Silence of the Flower
by TMNTfan1
Summary: Jacob never wanted to imprint, he only wanted Bella Swan. But what happens when he crashes into the resident 'mute' Lilly Fuller in the school halls one day and imprints? And what kinds of secrets does Lilly have hiding under her silence?
1. Chapter 1

Kim Connweller waited patiently as her biology teacher pulled names out of a shoe box in pairs, randomly assigning each student with their partner for their science project.

The teacher pulled out probably the third pair from the box and read the names, "Kim Connweller and…Lilly Fuller."

Kim stood up and scanned the students until another girl stood up, as well. The other girl had the usual Quileute features like most every other girl on the reservation. She was about 5'6" and had black hair that was parted over her left eye, had a barely-visible wave, and went down past her shoulder blades. She also had tan skin and, as Kim approached her to sit beside her, she noticed a light sprinkling of freckles across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. She had golden brown eyes with green flecks and, when she smiled at Kim in greeting, she showed small dimples near the corners of her mouth.

Once the last couple pairs were decided the teacher told the class to spend the rest of the class discussing their projects of choice with their partners.

After a few moments of awkward silence Kim cleared her throat and stuck her hand out towards the other girl. "Um, I'm Kim. It's nice to meet you."

The other girl shook her hand with a friendly smile, but didn't say anything in response. When they let go, she pulled her notebook closer to her and wrote something down before turning it so Kim could read it.

 _'I'm Lilly. It's nice to meet you, too.'_

Kim read it in confusion before her eyes widened. Lilly. Lilly Fuller. Of course!

"Oh! You're the…" Kim trailed off, not wanting to offend the girl.

Lilly nodded with a small, understanding smile. She got that response a lot. She quickly wrote down a sentence with her right hand. Kim also noticed Lilly's left hand was covered in nasty scarring, like a burn scar, the rest of it was hidden under her jacket sleeve so Kim didn't know how far up her arm it went.

 _'Yep. The mute.'_

"Sorry. You must be used to people feeling awkward around you, huh?" Kim grimaced, feeling guilty.

Lilly shrugged and wrote, _'Better awkward than mean.'_

Kim nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's true. I'm surprised I never knew you were in this class."

 _'Well, I'm kinda quiet.'_ Lilly wrote with a small smirk at her dumb joke. Kim laughed.

"Well, I can relate. I've been living here my whole life and to this day I'll still have people ask me if I'm a new student. My own boyfriend asked me that a couple weeks ago when we first officially met. He thinks it's cause I read too much." Kim chuckled as she thought back to when Jared, her boyfriend, imprinted on her.

Lilly thought for a moment before writing, _'Oh! You're dating Jared Cameron right?'_

Kim nodded, a huge smile lighting up her face. "Yep, but only for a week."

Lilly actually looked surprised before writing, _'The way I've seen you two act around each other it looks like you've been dating for over a year!'_

Kim laughed, feeling her face heat up in embarrassment. "Yeah, we just kinda…click, ya know?" she shrugged, not knowing how to explain her relationship with Jared to someone who didn't know about the legends and imprinting.

Lilly just smiled before writing. _'That's really cute.'_

Kim blushed again before getting down to business.

"Okay, so what do you want to do for our project?"

They spent the rest of the class period trying to think up a project that no one else would think to do, and by the end of the class, they finally thought of one.

When the bell rang, Kim gathered up her things and hurried out of the class, knowing Jared would be waiting for her just outside the door so they could head to their last class together.

Sure enough, when Kim walked out of the classroom she saw Jared leaning against some lockers with his books under one arm. Kim smiled at the sight of him, which he returned as he stood and met her halfway. Jared wrapped his free arm around her back and leaned down to peck her lips with his. Kim smiled up at him before she looked over her shoulder, seeing Lilly walk out of the class.

"Bye, Lilly! See you tomorrow!" Kim called, waving her hand a little. Lilly seemed mildly surprised that she was acknowledging her outside of class, but she smiled and waved back before heading down the hall.

Jared watched her for a moment before he looked down at his imprint, wrapping his arm around her shoulder to walk to their class. "Who was that?"

"Lilly Fuller. We're partners for our science project. She's really nice." Kim answered, smiling up at him.

Jared thought for a moment, knowing he'd heard that name before. Then it hit him.

"Wait, Lilly…you mean the mute?" he asked.

Kim pursed her lips before nodding. "Do you have to call her that?" she asked quietly.

Jared tightened his grip around her shoulders. "I didn't mean it like that, Kim. I was just trying to remember who she was."

Kim sighed. "I know. It just kinda bugs me that people refer to her as 'the mute'. She's really nice and funny and smart."

Jared nodded in agreement. Like mostly everyone else on the reservation, he knew only the basics of Lilly's story. A couple years prior, when Lilly was in eighth grade, her parents had been killed in a house fire, and Lilly almost died with them, but managed to get out with only a few burns. When she went back to school, she apparently stopped talking, but no one really knew for sure if she quit by choice or if she was injured in the fire to the point she _couldn't_ talk.

Being two years older than her, Jared knew less of the story than some did, but he noticed only a few short weeks after her parents' death, Lilly started hanging out by herself, while she used to have a large group of friends that she rarely strayed from. He didn't know what the deal was with that. Then again, he didn't know what went on in the female mind, except for Leah's, but hers was probably different than Lilly's.

XXX

When school got out, Lilly walked home by herself. The walk was only about ten minutes, so it wasn't that bad. When she entered the front door of the small, white, one-story house, there was a scraping of little claws scrabbling on the hardwood floor before suddenly a hyper little bundle of fur started jumping up against her legs, practically up to her chest.

Lilly giggled at the little Jack Russell Terrier as she put down her backpack and patted her chest with both hands. Knowing the sign well, the little dog leapt up into her arms, licking her face happily as she hugged him tightly to her chest. He had shaggy fur and ears that were flopped over like many other Jack Russell's, and he was completely white except for a patch of light brown over his left ear and eye, and another light brown patch in the middle of his back.

Lilly's Grandfather, Adam Fuller, had bought the little dog, which they named Dash, about seven years prior, when he was a little puppy. Adam had been wanting to train the dog to help hunt, but he had died only about six months later. Her Grandma hadn't had the heart to get rid of the little dog, but she didn't really want to have him be a hunting dog, either. So instead Dash became more of a companion than a hunting dog. Lilly figured it was better that way, anyways. Because while Dash was incredibly smart, he was a little too hyper to be much of a help in a hunt.

After letting Dash out in the backyard to do his business, she sat on the couch, Dash at her side, and pulled out her math homework to work on while she waited for her Grandmother to get home. As usual, Dash didn't stay sitting for very long. He eventually laid down pressed up against her leg, his chin rested on her thigh as he nosed her math book over to make room for himself.

After her parents died, she moved in with her Grandma Abby Fuller. Her Gran, the nickname she'd given her dad's mom when she was a baby, worked as a librarian in Forks, and was also a member on the Tribal Council. Her husband, Adam, used to be on the Council until he died of cancer when Lilly was ten. So, Abby had taken his place. Sue Clearwater did the same when her husband Harry passed only a week ago.

Lilly looked up when the sound of the front door distracted her from her math homework. Dash yipped happily as he leapt over the back of the couch to greet her Gran as she walked in, closing the door behind her with her foot as she carried two paper grocery sacks. Dash knew better than to jump on Abby, as they had taught him it was only okay with certain people. Abby Fuller was anything but a frail old lady to anyone who glanced at her. Being in her early sixties, she barely came to 5 feet tall, and she was heavier in weight, though not fat by any means. Her face contained laugh lines around her nose and the corners of her mouth, as well as her eyes from when they crinkled when she laughed. She had shoulder-length black hair that was graying at the roots.

Lilly put down her pencil and approached her Grandma, taking one of the bags from her and following her into the kitchen, Dash following happily, his little tail wagging furiously.

"Thanks, sweetie. How was your day at school?" Abby asked as she set her bag on the counter, pulling things out to put away.

Lilly placed her bag beside the other before pulling out the small notepad from her jacket pocket. She pulled the small pencil out of the spiral and wrote down her quick response before showing it to her Grandmother.

 _"Good. I got an A on my math test and in science we're working on a science project with partners."_

Abby read it over quickly before turning to continue putting things away. "I'm not too surprised about that A. How many times did I have to tell you to stop studying and go to sleep last week?" she asked teasingly, her thin eyebrow lifted knowingly. Lilly shrugged with an innocent smile before handing a bag of apples to her Grandma to put away. "So, who's your partner for your science project?"

 _"Kim Connweller. She's really nice."_

Abby smiled at the name written on her granddaughter's notepad. She'd only met Jared's imprint, Kim, a handful of times, mostly at the Clearwaters' the past week helping Sue, and she seemed a little shy but really sweet.

"Yes, she is. I've met Kim a few times. Sweet girl, that one. And definitely good at keeping Jared Cameron in line." Abby added, chuckling to herself. Lilly giggled to herself, thinking about a couple stories Kim had told about Jared when they got side-tracked in science.

When they finished putting the groceries away, Abby told Lilly to finish her homework while she made dinner.

Lilly sighed to herself as she got back to her math homework. Like every other teenager, she hated school. And she couldn't help wishing it was Friday instead of Monday.


	2. Chapter 2

_Her head whipped around, trying to figure out where she was. She was in a clearing, a large circle of grass and weeds and flowers with a dark forest trapping her in on every side._

 _A flash out of the corner of her eye drew her attention to a small gap in the trees. She took a step after it, only for her shoe to slosh through something thick and warm. She looked down, a gasp escaping her throat as she stumbled back._

 _A large puddle of thick, red blood had stained the grass. Her eyes followed it to a body. A familiar body._

 _Another flash made her look up, into a pair of blood-red eyes._

Lilly gasped as her eyes shot open, her chest heaving as she stared up at her white ceiling. She swallowed and closed her eyes, waiting for her heartbeat to go back to normal as the fear of the familiar nightmare slowly wore off.

When she was finally calmed down she looked at her bedside table; her alarm clock said 5:47 AM. 'Might as well get up now,' she thought, dragging herself out of bed and into the shower.

Her morning went as usual, but when she let Dash out she just sat outside with him to pass the extra time she had. Then school went about the same as any day, until math finally rolled around.

Their math teacher, Mr. Mathews, had written a few math problems on the board for them to work on at the beginning of class. Unlike the rest of her classmates, who gathered around to chat and discuss the latest gossip, Lilly got all three math problems done before the tardy bell even rang.

When the bell did ring, Mr. Mathews gave the class the first five minutes to finish the problems, since most of the class hadn't even started, so Lilly just stared down at her desktop, drawing lazy circles with her finger.

"Alright class, I believe that's enough time for you to get three simple math problems done." Mr. Mathews announced. Lilly forced herself not to snort. They were hardly easy. They'd just learned that kind of math the day before, but she did her homework and knew she did them right. "Lilly, why don't you tell me the first answer?" Mr. Mathews asked in his sickly sweet, mockingly sympathetic voice he often used with her.

She tried not to roll her eyes as she lifted her notebook for him to see where her answers were circled thickly with pencil lead.

He barely spared the notebook a glance before looking back down at her. They were both silent for several seconds before he said pointedly, "I'm waiting."

Lilly furrowed her brows, a little confused, before holding the notebook a little closer.

"Ms. Fuller, I believe I said ' _tell_ me the first answer', did I not?" Mr. Mathews answered impatiently.

Lilly glared at him, placing her notebook on the desktop when she realized what he was doing. He was trying to make her talk. So, she crossed her arms atop the desk top and glared at him.

After a moment, his calm expression slipped into his own glare.

"Ms. Fuller, if you refuse to participate in class, I'll have no choice but to send you to the office." he threatened.

"She can't talk." a small voice spoke from across the room.

"She won't talk." Mathews corrected, not looking away from Lilly, "However, I will not give her any special treatment. A sophomore in high school should be mature enough to talk about things, not go mute because of a little incident two years ago."

Lilly tried not to gape at him as several voices gasped at his obvious disrespect. 'A little incident'? Is that what he thought about death?

"Now, this is the last time I'll say this, Lillian." Mathews said slowly, leaning forward with his hands on her desk. "Tell me the answer."

Lilly stood her ground, keeping her arms crossed over her chest, leaned back slightly in her desk, glare placed firmly on her face as she slowly shook her head.

"Just leave her alone, she's not going to talk." someone muttered.

"Would someone else like to join Ms. Fuller in the Principal's office?!" Mathews shouted, standing straight to let his glare sweep across the class. "Because the next person who speaks out against me will be joining her."

There was silence before a loud, firm voice spoke from near the back.

"Yeah, I'd be glad to."

Everyone turned in their seats, including Lilly, whose eyes were wide in shock as she looked to the back. The boy was tall, over six and a half feet for sure, and broad shouldered, but a little more gangly than some of his friends. Lilly knew he was either Embry Call or Quil Ateara, considering they were seated side-by-side. His friend, whichever one he was, was staring up at him in shock along with the class.

The boy standing up was glaring straight at Mr. Mathews, who was glaring back at him.

"Mr. Call, if you know what's best for you, you'll sit your ass back in your seat."

"No, I won't. You know as well as anyone here what happened to her two years ago, and you just threw that in her face! What the hell's up with that? And she gave you the answer you were asking for, and it was probably right, who cares if she didn't say it out loud? Just take the answer in her fricken notebook and get class started already!"

Everyone was silent as Embry's words echoed around the room, but Mr. Mathews' face was bright red in anger.

"I'm the one with the teaching degree, and standing at the front of the room, Mr. Call. And I most certainly will NOT be taking advice from the Rez Bastard." Mr. Mathews responded with venom thick in his voice.

Lilly's mouth fell open, along with most of the class, as she looked back to see Embry's response.

His jaw clenched and his body was shaking slightly, his eyes looked black with rage. She saw Quil mutter something up at him and after a moment Embry closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.

"Call, Fuller, get out of my class and go to the Principal's office. Now." Mathews ordered as he headed towards his desk, probably to call the office.

Lilly rolled her eyes as she gathered all her things and left the room, feeling everyone's eyes burning into her back until she was in the hallway, Embry walking beside her.

She glanced up at him a few times. He was staring blankly ahead, lost in his own thoughts.

After a few moments of debating, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and typed out a quick message before holding it towards him just enough to get his attention.

Embry looked down at the phone in her hand before looking at her face. She moved the phone a little closer until he looked at what was typed on the screen.

 _'Thanks.'_

One side of his lips twitched up in a small half-smile before he looked down at her.

"It was nothing. That guy's a jerk. It was about time someone stepped up and knocked him down a few pegs." Embry answered with a shrug.

Lilly chewed her bottom lip nervously as she typed up something else and showed him. _'I'm sorry he said that to you.'_

He smiled at her again, but it didn't reach his eyes. "You don't have to apologize for something he said. And anyway, I'm used to comments like that. Especially the past week." he mumbled the last bit to himself, thinking of all the comments Leah had taken to making every time he was stuck with her and Seth since they'd phased last week. She enjoyed finding any leverage possible to use against all of them. For Paul, it was the fact that his mom walked out on him, and his father turned into a drunk bum. For Sam, he was just like his father, a liar and a cheater. For Jake, it was the whole Bella situation. And of course, for Embry it was his unknown father.

She also seemed to have a particular dislike for the imprinted wolves; which was just Jared and Sam so far. And since she couldn't find much on Jared to use as torture, she liked dragging Kim into it. However, after Jared nearly ripped her throat out after a particularly bad comment, Sam decided to keep Jared away from her for a while. Considering Jared was the calmest of the pack, it was easy to imagine how bad Leah's comment had to have been.

After a while of silence Embry glanced down, his eyes accidentally finding Lilly's left hand.

Most of the hand, apart from a few spots, was covered in skin that was a little darker pink then her natural skin tone, and it was wrinkled and puckered, like some kind of nasty scar. But he couldn't tell what kind.

Lilly glanced up at him, and when she saw where he was looking she looked down in embarrassment. Embry looked away, realizing he'd been staring.

"Sorry, I didn't…I didn't mean to stare…If you don't mind my asking…w-what happened?"

Lilly started chewing on her bottom lip as she started to slowly type on her cell phone. He'd noticed earlier she could type super fast, he'd never really seen someone text as fast as she was earlier. It seemed this slow texting was her way of hesitating. After about a minute she showed him her phone.

 _'I got hurt in the house fire'_

Embry's mouth opened slightly, but he didn't know what to say. The house fire? As in the house fire that killed her parents? That had to be what she meant. There haven't hardly been any house fires in the past.

"I…I'm sorry." he finally breathed, looking back at her face as she pulled back her phone.

She shrugged with a wry smile as she started typing again, this time the speed she'd been going before. He almost couldn't see her thumb moving.

' _It took some getting used to. I'm ambidextrous but I always preferred my left hand, so when I got hurt I had to use my right hand a lot. Now I'm better with my right hand than my left.'_

Embry chuckled as she laughed as well.

Before either of them could say anything more, they turned a corner, and Lilly crashed into a brick wall. At least that's what it felt like. Before she could fall back on her butt; a large, calloused, scorching hot hand wrapped around her forearm and pulled her back to her feet, waiting until she was sturdy before it let her go. She looked up to see another very tall boy. Well, he looked more like a man, but he also looked familiar. He was in a couple of her classes, History and Study Hall. He had broader shoulders than Embry, and was a few inches taller than him, too. He had cropped, black hair, like Embry, but he had bags under his eyes and he just looked kinda broken.

"Jake!" Embry's voice was full of surprise at the sight of his best friend. "I didn't know you were coming to school today." Jake hadn't been to school, heck he hadn't even been in _human form,_ since Bella came back and told him she was choosing the leech over him only a few days ago.

Jake tried to give him a smirk, but it looked more like a grimace. "Sam made me." he muttered, so the girl with them couldn't hear. "What are you doing in the hall, anyway?"

Embry rolled his eyes and seemed to offer a smirk to the girl standing with them, who Jake had barely glanced at.

"Well, long story short, Mathews started harassing Lilly, here, and I stood up to him, so he called me the 'Rez Bastard' in front of the whole class. Then he sent us to the office."

Jake's eyes widened ever so slightly as his mouth opened in shock. "You're kidding. That's bull." he tried to sound angry, but his voice was so dull and empty he just sounded bored. "What was he saying about you?" he asked, looking down at the girl. She was looking at her feet, so her long black hair hid her face a little.

Lilly looked sideways up at Embry, not wanting to type the whole thing out for this guy.

Embry took the hint and answered, "She doesn't talk, and he was trying to force her to give her answer to a math problem, and she refused."

Lilly looked up at the other guy just as he looked down at her, his face showing confusion. When their eyes met, the confusion disappeared and was replaced by a look of shock and awe. Lilly had no idea what her face looked like, she just got lost in his dark brown, nearly black, eyes. They were like windows into his soul. She could see confusion in their depths, as well as shock, but hidden deep in them she could see heartbreak. After a moment, those emotions faded into realization, then fear, before finally settling on anger.

He cursed loudly before turning and running the other way, out of the building. Lilly watched him go with wide eyes. After a moment she looked up at Embry. He was in the middle of running both hands through his hair, his cheeks puffed up as he blew out a puff of air, obviously stressed. When he looked down at her, she made sure to show how confused she was. Embry offered her a reassuring smile, though it was a little shaky.

"Um, Jake's going through a tough time. I don't think he should have been in school today, honestly." Embry shrugged before continuing down the hall towards the office, Lilly following after a moment.

When they entered the office, the lady at the desk looked up and offered a polite smile to them, though it seemed more forced when she looked at Embry. Many teachers weren't too fond of 'Sam's Gang'.

"Hello Lilly, Embry. Mr. Connors is on the phone at the moment, but he'll be out to see you when he's done. Have a seat please." she motioned towards the row of chairs against the wall.

They both took a seat side-by-side, waiting patiently.

After a few minutes the Principal came out of his office, calling, "Embry Call and Lilly Fuller." the two named stood and followed him into his office in the back. They each took a seat in the two chairs in front of his desk as he sat in his own chair.

He sighed tiredly as he glanced at Embry before he fixed his eyes on Lilly. "Halfway through Tuesday, and you're already in my office again, Ms. Fuller. Not off to a good start, are we?"

Lilly shrugged, her arms crossed over her chest as she leaned back in the chair. Embry looked at her in confusion.

"Again?" he murmured. Lilly looked sideways at him, smiling a little before letting it drop and looked back ahead.

"Alright, Mr. Mathews states that you, Lilly, refused to participate in class; and that you, Mr. Call, disrespected him in front of the class. Why don't you two tell me your version of the story?"

Embry and Lilly looked at each other before Embry looked back at Mr. Connors and spoke, "He wanted Lilly to answer a math problem, and she did, in her notebook, but he tried to force her to speak, and she refused. So, I stood up for her, and he called me the 'Rez Bastard'. Anything else you'd like to know?" he asked sarcastically.

Mr. Connors took a deep breath, clearly stressed out, before he spoke, "Alright, I'll definitely have a word with Mathews about calling you that, Embry. But, Lilly, really, you're in my office how many times a week? Wouldn't it simply be easier to talk? It's been two years, you need to move on." he added sympathetically to the young girl before him.

Lilly glared at him, biting her tongue to keep from screaming at him. Even though she chose to go mute, it was still difficult sometimes, especially when people spoke to her like a child.

Connors sighed before speaking quietly, "Embry, could you step outside for a moment so I can have a word with Lilly alone, please?"

Before he even finished speaking Lilly had grabbed a notepad off his desk and scribbled something before showing it to the Principal. Embry caught a glimpse of the note, and it said in all caps, _'I AM NOT GOING TO COUNSELING!'_ Clearly the two had talked about this before.

Mr. Connors sighed impatiently. "Lilly, I know you went through something terrible, but you can't keep holding on to the past like this. You need to move on. It's what your parents would want."

Lilly scribbled another message frantically, and Embry figured they forgot he was still in the room. _'You don't know what I'm going through, or even why I quit talking. It's not my parents, so stay out of my business.'_

Again, he sighed, this time, though, it sounded more like he was defeated. "Okay, okay. I'll drop it. Now, lets talk about your punishment."

"You're kidding." Embry exclaimed in disbelief. "I told you what happened, we aren't in the wrong, Mathews is."

"I know, I know. Just listen, okay. Fourth hour just started about fifteen minutes ago. And I'm sure you two don't want to go back to spend another half an hour in math with Mathews, correct?" both teenagers nodded, though they both looked confused. "So, I'm going to give both of you suspension for only the rest of the day. That sound okay?"

Embry and Lilly looked at each other in confusion before Embry looked at Mr. Connors suspiciously.

"Let me get this straight. We just go home now and don't have to come back until tomorrow morning? No other kind of punishment, like detention, community service,…or being locked in a room with Mathews?"

Mr. Connors smirked a tiny bit, "First of all, I wouldn't punish anyone with being in a locked room with him, not even Hitler. Second of all, I was a teenager once, too. And seeing as the two of you really didn't do anything wrong, I don't see the reason for punishing you. I will, however, have a talk with Mathews about what he said to you, Embry."

Embry smiled a little bit. "Great. So, we can go now?"

"Well, seeing as this is supposed to be a punishment, I'll have to call your parent or guardians to come pick you up. So, while I give them a call, you two go sit out in the front office, alright?"

The two nodded before standing and leaving the room, sitting where they were before. They sat in a relatively comfortable silence for about fifteen minutes before a man entered the office from outside. He was wearing jean cutoffs and a tight, blue t-shirt. He looked very much like Embry's friends, so Lilly figured this was Sam Uley, the leader of the supposed 'gang' who she hadn't seen in person for a few years.

The lady at the front desk eyed Sam suspiciously and with obvious disdain.

"May I help you, Mr. Uley?" she asked impatiently.

"I'm here to pick up Embry Call and Lilly Fuller." he answered in a gruff, emotionless voice.

Lilly stiffened in surprise at the mention of her name.

The woman at the desk narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm sorry, but only the parent or guardian can collect each student, and that doesn't entail you."

"If you'll check your records, I'm listed as the first number to call for Embry in such cases. And Mrs. Fuller called me and personally asked me to pick Lilly up, seeing as she is currently working and unable to pick her up herself. You can call her if you don't believe me, but seeing as she works at a library she may not appreciate that." Any other time, Sam's statement would sound almost disrespectful or mocking, but his tone suggested otherwise. He sounded respectful enough. The woman at the desk, however, did not seem to like it.

"Mr. Uley, I don't know what game you're playing, but I-"

"Susan." Mr. Connors stepped out of his office to speak, "Sam is listed as the first number to call for Embry, and Abby informed me when I called her workplace that she couldn't come herself and would be sending someone else. Now, please let Mr. Uley collect the two as he was asked."

'Susan' huffed before sitting down, glaring angrily at Sam, who ignored her. Instead he turned to the two teens waiting for him, nodding his head in a gesture for them to follow him.

Lilly swung her backpack, which she had collected while waiting, onto her shoulder and followed the two out of the building. They headed into the parking lot towards an older-looking, dark blue car with a little rust around the edges. She pursed her lips to keep from laughing when Sam and Embry climbed into the front seats. They barely fit. She climbed into the back by herself, setting her bag beside her.

"So, Embry, care to tell me what this was about?" Sam asked pointedly as he pulled out of the lot. Embry told pretty much the same story he'd told the Principal, and Lilly noticed Sam's grip on the wheel tighten at what Mathews called Embry at the end. It almost seemed like Embry's unknown parentage was a touchy subject among his friends, too.

"Hey Lilly," Embry turned around in his seat. "about how many times a week do you get sent to the office?"

Lilly thought for a moment before holding up two fingers.

"Twice a week? Jeeze, and I thought you were a goody-two-shoes." he joked with a smile. Lilly smirked back before sticking her tongue out at him. "Wow, real mature Lil."

Lilly paused at the nickname, trying to gage her own emotions towards it. The last time she'd been called 'Lil' was two years ago…by her father, only a couple days before he died. Her Gran used to call her that on occasion, but stopped after her parents died, probably afraid it would hurt for Lilly to hear it. But…it didn't hurt. It felt nice, hearing someone call her that so easily. She actually missed it.

"The two of you are probably going to be hanging out at my place for a couple hours until school gets out and Abby can pick you up." Sam stated, directing the last part at Lilly with a glance in the rearview mirror. She nodded in understanding before looking out the window as the trees blurred together beside the road.

 **XXX**

 **Okay, this chapter was getting really long, so I just split it in half. So chapter 3 is when Lilly meets Emily and hangs out at her house for a while.**


	3. Chapter 3

After about ten minutes they pulled up to a small cottage-like house several meters into the woods on a small, gravel path. After Sam parked, he lead the way into the house, with the two trailing behind him.

"Just a heads up, don't stare at Emily." Embry whispered to Lilly as they neared the house. Lilly looked at him and nodded. She knew about the bear attack, and she'd seen Emily before around town, mostly when she went to the store to pick up groceries. She knew what she looked like, they'd just never been formally introduced, and her Gran only ever had wonderful things to say about her, so she was obviously a great person.

"Emily?" Sam called into the house when he entered the front door into the living room.

"In the kitchen!" a voice called from deeper into the house.

Embry snorted as he closed the door behind them, walking past Lilly as she hesitantly trailed behind them. "When isn't she in the kitchen?" he asked sarcastically.

By the time the two turned a corner into a small, homey kitchen, Sam was already holding a beautiful, native woman around the waist, pressing kisses all along her face and lips while she giggled. Embry rolled his eyes at Lilly before clearing his throat.

"Get a room, will ya? Innocent eyes present." he smirked, jerking his thumb at Lilly, who gaped at him in mock offense. He just winked at her.

Emily pulled away while Sam glared at Embry.

"Embry. Suspended, really? I expect that from Paul or Quil, maybe even Jared, but you? Really?" she asked as she went back to popping muffins out of the pan and onto a plate.

"Hey, in my defense that douche bag had it coming." Embry pointed out. Sam nodded, leaning back on the counter next to Emily.

"He actually did. Embry told me what happened, and I'll admit the guy was out of line." Sam told her.

"What did he do?" Emily asked, looking back at Embry, before she finally noticed Lilly standing behind him. "Oh, who's this? I didn't even notice someone else was here." she said, wiping her hands on a towel.

"This is Lilly Fuller, she got suspended too." Embry added, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"Oh! Lilly! Abby's told me so much about you, I swear, you're her favorite thing to brag about." Emily said with a smile, giving Lilly a hug. She returned it, trying not a feel awkward. When they pulled back she looked at the floor in embarrassment at hearing that her Grandma bragged about her.

"Aw, don't be shy now." Embry teased her, causing Emily to swat him on the back of the head.

"Leave the poor girl alone and someone tell me what the heck happened to cause the two of you to get suspended." Emily demanded, placing a plate full of muffins on the table.

Embry sighed exaggeratedly. "Okay, okay, but before I repeat this story for the fourth time in the last hour, can I at least eat a muffin?!"

"Why would it be the fourth time? You've told me and probably the Principal, who else?" Sam asked, taking a bite of a muffin.

Embry glanced up at him, his expression serious for a moment. "Jake. We ran into him and, uh, he ditched school again."

Sam tensed. "He what?" he growled, pissed that Jake disobeyed him.

Embry glanced at Lilly as she hesitantly took a seat at the table. "Yeah, something…happened, and he didn't take it too well. He's probably out with Leah and Seth right about now. I doubt he'll be coming in here for a while." Translation: Jake got pissed about something, left the school to phase and was stuck with the Clearwaters since they were on patrol, and would probably be too angry to phase back anytime soon. "You may want to go check on him." Embry finished pointedly, again glancing at Lilly, who seemed to be ignoring them as she played with the end of her jacket sleeve. In reality, she was listening very intently to what they were saying, and knew they were hiding something, she just knew it wasn't her place to ask about it.

Sam glanced at Lilly for a moment before nodding. "Right, I'll go see what's up." he kissed Emily on the cheek before leaving out the back door.

"Anyway, tell me what happened." Emily demanded again, looking over her shoulder at Embry as she started the dishes. So, Embry repeated the story for the fourth time. While he did so, Lilly got out her homework to work on at the kitchen table.

When he was done, Emily was more than shocked.

"He seriously said all of that? Oh my gosh, that is uncalled for. If I said half those things to any of my students I'd probably be fired on the spot." Emily ranted, shaking her head at the sink.

"You also teach Elementary school art classes, a little bit different from High School." Embry pointed out, eating his third muffin.

"Still." Emily mumbled angrily just as Sam reentered the house, having a stressed look on his face as he glanced at Lilly. Emily looked at him in confusion as he approached her, whispering something in her ear. Emily's eyes widened in shock as she, too, glanced at Lilly.

"Hey, you're in biology?" Embry asked, looking over at the homework Lilly was working on. Lilly paused in writing the answer for her tenth question on her science worksheet, looking up at him and nodding. "Can you help me with that assignment? I have no idea what I'm doing." Embry complained, making Lilly smile in amusement as she nodded. So, Embry got out his copy of the worksheet and scooted his chair closer to hers. For a girl who didn't talk, she did a better job of explaining than the actual teacher, even though all she did was write down a few directions and point at things.

By the time they finished that assignment Lilly could hear the sound of loud laughter approaching the house before the front door slammed open.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to slam the door Paul Lahote?!" Emily shouted as a trio of large guys entered the kitchen.

"How'd you know it was me?" the first guy asked, a cocky smirk on his face. He froze when his eyes landed on Lilly at the table, causing the others to run into him from behind.

"Dude! Why'd you stop?" another guy asked from the back. The other two shoved their way into the kitchen past the first one. They, too, paused when they saw Lilly sitting at the table with Embry. All the attention was starting to make Lilly uncomfortable.

"Hey, the triumphant return!" the one she recognized as Quil from her and Embry's math class stepped past the others, holding up one hand for her to give him a high five. Lilly knew she was blushing, but she smacked her hand to his anyway.

"So you guys actually got suspended, huh?" Quil asked as he sat next to Embry, taking a muffin off the plate in the middle of the table.

"Wait, what?" the third guy looked beyond confused as he and Paul stood there staring at her.

"UGH!" Embry let his head drop, his forehead slamming down onto the table with a very loud _THUD_. "Please don't make me repeat the story AGAIN!" he whined in a muffled voice, making Lilly cover her mouth with her hand to stifle her laughter.

Sam sighed before retelling the story for them. By the time he was done, the other guys were seated at the table eating muffins.

The only guy at the table who Lilly couldn't put a name to looked over at her when Sam finished. "So, you're the famous Lilly Fuller, huh?" at Lilly's look of confusion, he explained, "Kim told me a bit about you yesterday. I'm Jared." he held his muffin-free hand out towards her to shake. She took it briefly with a smile. "And for the record, no one likes Mathews. He's a douche to everyone."

Lilly nodded with a small grimace just as a car pulled up at the front of the house. Sam glanced out the window.

"That's your grandmother. You'd better get going." he said, turning back to look down at Lilly. She nodded, picking up her bag and sliding it over her shoulder as she headed out the door.

"See ya tomorrow Lil!" Embry called as he, Quil, and Jared waved. She smiled back at them, waving in response as she left.

Sam watched as she got in the front passenger seat of Abby's car. Once the car was out of sight, he turned back to the four pack members sitting in his kitchen.

"Jake imprinted on Lilly."

That one sentence caused Jared and Quil to choke on their muffins while Paul gaped at his Alpha, bits of half-chewed muffin-slop falling onto the tabletop.

"What?!" Quil and Jared managed to choke out, still coughing as Emily placed two glasses of water in front of them.

Embry nodded, his face serious. "Yep. Lilly literally ran into him when we were going to the office, and then BAM, instant imprint. When Jake figured out what happened, he got pissed, ran outside, and phased."

"I went to check on him a while ago." Sam continued, "And from what I can gather, he's planning on fighting the imprint. He thinks the spirits got it wrong, and that he belongs with Bella only."

Jared rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh. "Great." he groaned.

Paul laughed suddenly. "Ha! The spoiled baby Alpha imprints on the Rez mute! How retarded is that?"

Embry punched him hard on the arm. "Leave her alone, Lahote. Lilly doesn't deserve any of that."

Paul smirked at him. "Oh come on! You have to find this funny! Everyone probably expected Black to imprint on some perfect, hot chick who was born and raised on the Rez and is pure Quileute descended from Taha Aki himself. Instead, he gets the Rez mute who has no friends. How am I the only one who finds that funny?" he looked around the kitchen in hopes of finding some kind of support, but everyone was glaring at him.

"If you think about it, which I know is a struggle for you with no working brain cells and all, Lilly is everything you just listed. Lilly _is_ pretty, has never lived off the Rez, is pure Quileute, and if she's a Fuller she's descended from Taha Aki through the Ateara bloodline. And she _does_ have friends." Jared finished firmly.

"Name one." Paul ordered, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed, one eyebrow raised.

"Kim." Jared answered pointedly, leaning forward on his elbows as he stared Paul down. "And me. She's my imprint's friend, and an imprint herself. I already see her as a friend, maybe even a sister."

"Same here." Embry added, crossing his arms as he, too, stared at Paul.

"I haven't really talked to her much, but I could easily see myself being friends with her." Quil raised his hand hesitantly, feeling the tension in the room.

Paul rolled his eyes and scoffed in exasperation. "Give me a break. You're all claiming to be her friend by default. You two only care cause she's your best friend's imprint," Paul pointed a finger between Embry and Quil, "and you only care cause your imprint does." he added, looking over at Jared, who narrowed his eyes back at him. "The only person who might _actually_ be considered her friend, is Kim. And that's only because they were partnered for a science project by random, _yesterday_." he finished his speech by grabbing another muffin off the plate and taking a bite.

Embry snarled, a glare firmly on his face. "I really hate you sometimes."

"Only 'cause I'm right." Paul declared with a smirk.

"No. 'Cause you're a cold-hearted prick." Embry snapped back.

"Enough." Sam ordered, rubbing his forehead to ward off an oncoming headache at all the arguing. "Aren't you two supposed to be out on patrol by now?" he asked, looking pointedly between Paul and Jared.

Jared grimaced while Paul whined, "Aw come on! Don't make me be stuck in Black's head! It's normally hell as it is, with all the thoughts of his precious leech lover. It's going to be twice as bad now that he's gone over to the dark side."

Jared glared at him. "Just 'cause he imprinted, doesn't mean he's gone over to 'the dark side'."

"Says the imprinted pussy." Paul retorted, standing up and heading out the door to phase. Jared hurried after him to shove him as he passed.

As soon as the pair hit the tree line, they phased and raced into the forest.

" _Oh great, more retards,"_ came Leah's mocking voice, _"I'm outta here."_ with that there was a shimmer in the air and she was gone from the pack mind link, leaving only Jared, Paul, a frustrated Jacob, and an unusually quiet Seth.

 _"Hey Jake, congrats on the imprint."_ Jared spoke to the frustrated wolf, trying to gage his reaction.

 _"Stop saying that! I didn't imprint! I can't have! I belong with Bella!"_ Jake roared in frustration as he tore through the trees.

 _"No, the leech lover belongs with the walking dead."_ Paul retorted as he weaved among the trees toward the south border, _"And I don't think your wolf agrees with your opinion on The Mute."_

Paul was right, for once. Everyone could tell Jake was having some issues controlling his wolf. It was like he was having an internal battle between his human half and his wolf half. The wolf was freaking out because he wanted to check on Lilly. To get to know her and take care of her. The human, however, wanted nothing to do with this mysterious, silent girl.

 _"Why do you think she's mute?"_ Seth spoke up for the first time as he ran towards his house to phase back. _"Is it a medical condition?"_

 _"I don't think so."_ Jared answered uncertainly, _"I'm pretty sure when someone's actually mute, they can't make any sounds at all, and I've heard Lilly laugh and stuff. I think she just chooses not to speak."_ Jared said, thinking of when Lilly laughed at Embry slamming his head on the table.

 _"Wait! What?! She was at Sam's?! Why was she at Sam's?"_ Jake demanded, not noticing his wolf took over for a second and had him racing back towards Sam's house.

 _"Dude, chill! She's not there anymore."_ Paul pointed out as he ran along the border.

 _"Abby couldn't pick Lilly up from school when she and Embry were suspended this afternoon, so she called Sam while he was on his way to pick up Embry and asked if he could pick Lilly up, too. Then when Abby got off work, she picked Lilly up at Sam's place."_ Jared explained. Meanwhile, Jake got his wolf back under control and turned around to run the opposite direction from Sam's place.

 _"What's so bad about her, Jake?"_ Seth asked curiously, _"She seems nice. Why don't you at least get to know her?"_

 _"I'm not weak."_ Jake snarled, shaking his head vigorously as he ran, _"I won't just take this lying down. I'm going to fight it with everything I've got. I'm going to fight for Bella. I won't let the spirits screw me over again."_

 _"So Sam and I are weak?"_ Jared asked, his voice had an undertone of anger and frustration, _"Just because we listened to our ancestors, and our wolves, and found someone we can truly love, who will love us in return, our other half, someone to make us better men. That makes us weak, huh? Just because we're happy, we're weak, is that it?"_

 _"No, you're weak because you believe that line of bull the spirits fed you. You're weak because you took it lying down, you didn't fight, didn't try, didn't argue. You just accepted that you'll never get anything better than what the spirits picked out for you!"_

The second Jake's rant was finished, Jared leapt out of the bushes, tackling him to the ground and sinking his teeth into Jake's shoulder. Jake snapped his head up, his jaws snapping until it clamped down on the side of Jared's neck. The two began rolling across the forest floor, crashing into trees and brush as they went.

Paul and Seth changed direction and sped up until they were on the edge of the small clearing, pacing among the trees as they watched the fight. Seth was nervous, wondering is he should howl for Sam to break up the fight. Paul, meanwhile, was watching excitedly, wondering who was going to win this one. Ever since Jake kicked his ass when he attacked Bella, Paul had been hoping someone would show the Baby Alpha up for a change.

When Jared was back in control, he bit into Jake's shoulder so hard his teeth were grinding on the bone, making Jake whimper. Planting his feet firmly on the ground, Jared lifted the front half of Jake's body, only to slam him down on the ground. Seth winced at the quiet crack of one of Jake's bones breaking upon impact.

 _"Do I look weak to you, Jake?"_ Jared snarled, his lips lifted to reveal his bloody teeth that were embedded in Jake's flesh. _"I love Kim. I wouldn't trade my imprinting on her for anything. Even without the imprint, I can easily see myself being with her for life. I'm only grateful for the imprint because I'm afraid that without it, I never would've found her. But she's easily everything I wanted in a girl, and even more. She's everything I_ need _in a girl. I didn't fight it because, deep down, I hoped the spirits knew what they were doing. And they did. I gave the imprint a chance, and it was the best decision I've ever made. Does that make me weak, Jacob?"_

Jake relaxed his body, slouching against the ground, his chest heaving as he panted for breath.

 _"That's great, Jared. Really, it is. And I have nothing against Kim. But I know what I want, and that's Bella."_ Jake answered quietly.

 _"But is that what you need, Jake? We've all seen what Bella's done to you. She used you as a crutch when her leech abandoned her. She led you on. And then she left you for him without so much as a glance back. She may have claimed to be your best friend, but she never did, and never will, return your feelings."_ Jared released Jake's shoulder and stepped away from him. _"Think about that, Jake."_ he suggested quietly as he turned and continued on his patrol, leaving Jake to think over his words.

 **XXX**

 **Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels, everyone!**


	4. Chapter 4

Paul stuffed his math book in his locker, sifting through his things to try and find the novel they were reading in English, his next class. A loud crash brought his attention down the hall; well, it was loud to him.

Several yards down the hall, five girls in either miniskirts or short shorts were surrounding another girl in jeans and a hoodie. The only reason the five girls were taller than the other girl, was because they were all wearing six-inch heels. Paul also noticed that there were notebooks and other things sprawled around the girl's feet on the floor. He also recognized the five girls surrounding her. Three of them were seniors like him; Bridgette, Diana, and Julie, while the other two were juniors who had recently joined their ranks, Leanne and Morgan. Bridgette was the leader of their little 'slut crew', and Paul would admit he was one of the many, many, many guys who'd spent a night with her; a few times, actually. Diana and Morgan were two of his other conquests.

Due to his heightened hearing, he could clearly make out what was being said.

"I said, do you have anything you'd like to say, Mute?" Bridgette asked in a snobby, degrading voice. Clearly this was just a game to them.

"It's rude to bump into people and not apologize." Leanne pointed out snidely. That's when Paul realized who they were surrounding. Lilly Fuller.

He rolled his eyes and went back to searching for his book, thinking to himself, 'I rest my case. The mute has no friends'.

Hearing some scuffling, Paul looked back over at the group of girls. The hallway was mostly empty, with a few stragglers trying to get to class on time. He saw the mute stumble backwards a bit before straightening herself, she'd obviously just been pushed. She was still for a moment while the sluts were snickering to themselves, then she knelt down, appearing to try picking her things up. That's when Bridgette made another move. She shoved her hands against the mute's shoulders, causing her to lose her balance and fall back on her butt.

A tremor rocked Paul's spine, making him clench his fist around his locker door. He almost had to restrain himself from phasing and attacking those girls. It wasn't his wolf who brought that feeling out; though he was pissed, too. Someone had dared to put their hands on a pack imprint in a harmful manner, and the Rightful Alpha's imprint at that. No wolf tolerated that no matter what. But no, it wasn't his wolf who wanted to attack those girls.

That was Paul Lahote, the human. The guy that treated girls like crap and used them for sex; but even he drew a line at physically harming a girl. In a fair fight, sure. He'd been tempted to rip Leah a new one on several occasions, but in wolf form only. Two normal guys fighting, that was fine. Two girls in a cat fight, that was entertaining. But five to one where the one refused to fight back? That's what pissed him off.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you, Mute!" Bridgette shouted, her hands on her hips as she glared down at Lilly, who was gathering her things in her arms while she sat on her knees. Paul stood up, slamming his locker door and heading down the hallway. He was almost halfway to them when he saw Bridgette raise her hand like she was planning on backhanding Lilly.

"Bridgette!" Paul's booming voice echoed through the hall as he approached them. The group froze and looked over at him, Lilly peaking timidly at him over her shoulder.

Bridgette's shocked expression quickly turned into a seductive grin at the sight of the huge mass of muscle heading their way. Though, her eyes were focused on his chest flexing under his tight shirt as he approached. If she'd been focused on his facial expression, she wouldn't be smiling.

"Oh, hey Paul. I didn't see you there. Once I'm finished here why don't we head out to my car? I'm sure we can find something to do that's much better than sitting through an hour history lecture." Bridgette suggested in what was supposed to be a seductive voice, batting her eyelashes as she trailed her nails down Paul's chest.

As gently as he could, Paul gripped her wrist in his hand and pushed it away. "Nice try, but that's not why I came over here. What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Bridgette smirked over her shoulder at the younger girl still on the ground. Lilly met her eyes from over her own shoulder before she hastily turned back around and continued picking up her things. Bridgette turned back around to speak to Paul, her smirk still in place.

"Just dealing with a little pest control." she answered simply, causing all her friends to snicker and cackle to themselves like it was the funniest thing in the world.

"You think ganging up on her and shoving her to the ground was 'pest control'?" Paul asked lowly, his voice dangerous, like a predator, and Bridgette caught that.

"Why do you care?" she asked haughtily, her hands on her hips. "It's not like she's anything to you. She's just the lonely, pathetic mute who tries to make friends by making people feel sorry for her." Paul tried not to wince at the fact that she just voiced his same opinion of the 'mute', "Do you really think someone can mourn their parents' death for _two years_? I mean, come on you get over it eventually!"

"And how many parents have you lost, Bridgette?" Paul asked smoothly, his voice like honey. Venomous honey that you could drown in if you weren't careful.

Bridgette opened her mouth, but was silent for a few seconds. Finally, she responded, "That's besides the point. Death happens everyday. You have to move on eventually."

Paul knew that eventually, yes, it was necessary to go on with your life. However, he also knew, not from personal experience but because of Jake and the Clearwaters, that losing a parent was hard and took a long time to get over. Jake still sometimes had moments where he missed his mom. But he was also much younger when Sarah Black died. Lilly was only about fourteen when her parents died, and from what he heard, she'd witnessed their death! That alone would traumatize a kid.

Paul stepped forward so he was chest to chest with Bridgette, though not in the way she wanted. He glared down at her, his eyes ablaze with fury.

"You don't know anything about her, and you have no clue what she's going through. So back the hell off, Bridgette." he snarled. He stood there for a moment as she gaped at him before he stepped around her and knelt in front of Lilly to help her pick up her things.

Lilly paused in surprise for a moment when a pair of large, tan, calloused hands joined hers in collecting the scattered folders and notebooks. She glanced nervously at the girls standing over them before she continued collecting her things.

"Oh, I get it." Bridgette stated after a moment, like she just solved some difficult math problem. "You want in her pants."

Paul froze, his muscles going stiff in shock and barely-contained rage before he looked up at her incredulously. "Excuse me?"

Bridgette rolled her eyes and flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Oh come on! Like the Great Paul Lahote would help a girl out of the goodness of his heart? Obviously she's just your next conquest! Though why you'd resort to doing _that_ I'll never know." she finished eyeing Lilly in disgust.

Paul took a deep breath to try and calm down as he handed the notebooks he'd picked up to Lilly. Then, he stood up and glared down at Bridgette once again.

"For the last time, Bridgette. Back the hell off." he snarled. They kept eye contact, and Lilly was mildly surprised Paul didn't burn a hole in her head with his glare. After what felt like forever, Bridgette was the one to break their stare, taking a step away from Paul.

"Say what you want, Paul. But I doubt many people will believe that line of bull." she said snobbishly before she walked past him, leading her group down the hall.

Paul huffed in annoyance before turning to look down at Lilly, who'd just finished picking up all of her things. He hesitated for a moment before he walked around to stand in front of her, and held out his hand.

Lilly blinked in shock when the hand appeared in front of her face. She looked up at Paul, and was even more surprised to see that his face wasn't a cold mask, a smug smirk, or a glare. She wouldn't call it blank, but it was gentle with a small friendly smile. She didn't even know Paul Lahote could _do_ gentle or friendly.

After a second of hesitation, she took his hand with her free one and let him pull her to her feet.

"Sooo, uh,…in case you didn't figure it out, I'm Paul Lahote." he gave her a small smirk and offered his hand again. Lilly shook it almost hesitantly before she took out her phone and typed out, _'I'm Lilly. You were at Sam's yesterday.'_

Paul chuckled. "Yeah, that tends to be our hangout spot after school." he admitted. "What class are you heading to?"

Lilly quickly typed up a response, a small smirk on her face that Paul didn't understand, until he read the text. _'English with Alexander'_.

Paul blinked before his brows scrunched up in confusion, his head snapping up to look at her in surprise. "You're in my English class?" he asked.

Lilly nodded as she typed again, ' _Yeah. You're usually asleep in the back and I'm way in the front.'_

Paul smirked and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Oh. You noticed that, huh?"

Lilly giggled as she nodded.

The tardy bell chose that moment to ring, telling the two they needed to get to class.

Paul glanced at her before nodding in the direction of their class. The two walked down the hall in a comfortable silence before they entered the class, their teacher talking in the front.

The 5' tall woman with sun-kissed skin and short, light brown hair turned and sighed in exasperation upon seeing Paul enter her room.

"Ah, Mr. Lahote. Can't you come to my class on time for once?" she asked before noticing Lilly standing beside him. "Lilly?" she asked in confusion.

"Sorry Mrs. A. I was helping Lilly with something in the hall." Paul admitted quietly, not lying but not telling the whole story.

"I see." the teacher murmured in response. "Well, since you were helping out another student, I'll let it slide this time. Take your seats please, we're starting speeches."

Paul nodded before heading towards the back of the room while Lilly took her seat in the desk closest to the door in the front row.

Most of the class was spent with Mrs. Alexander calling names by random draw and students talking for about two minutes about something they would change in the school system.

Lilly didn't really pay much attention to any of them. Except Paul's speech. His was just too funny not to pay attention to. Typically, he did his speech on why they shouldn't be allowed to give students homework. Even though she listened to Paul's speech, during the others she sketched a new picture of something from her most recent dream from the night before.

"Lilly." Lilly's head snapped up upon hearing her name, and she looked around to see everyone looking at her expectantly. A little _too_ expectantly. "Are you ready to give your speech?" Mrs. Alexander asked gently, already knowing the answer. Lilly shook her head silently in response, staring down at her drawing. Her teacher sighed patiently. "Okay, just remember you only have two days to give it, or it goes in the grade book as a zero." Lilly nodded silently, not really caring as she continued working on her picture, trying to get the eyes right.

After what only seemed like a minute, Mrs. Alexander was standing in the front of the room, addressing the class. "Alright, that's it for this speech. Now, you can have the last fifteen minutes of class to yourselves while I call you to my desk in alphabetical order to look at your grade for the class. Obviously, this speech won't be in there yet, but just so you guys know where you are."

As she went to her desk at the front, everyone began moving around the room to sit with their friends, while Lilly continued with her picture.

Someone tapped her shoulder, making her look back. Paul smiled at her with a small wave.

"I think I figured out how I didn't know you were in this class." he announced, "You've never given a speech."

Lilly shrugged with a smile as she closed her sketch pad and turned to sit sideways in her desk so she could see him better. Before he could say anything else, Lilly's name was called by the teacher.

Lilly sighed, rolling her eyes at Paul before heading towards the teacher's desk. Paul laughed at her response. When she was standing beside the teacher's desk, the older woman motioned for her to sit in the chair that was placed before her desk. Lilly sat in the empty chair, waiting patiently for what was coming while her teacher read over something on the computer, probably her grades.

Finally, Mrs. Alexander turned to look at her.

"Well, what can I say that I haven't said before, Lilly?" she asked rhetorically, leaning her elbows on her desktop. "You have a borderline 'A' in this class. However, once this speech goes in as a zero, like all the other ones, it'll drop you to a 'B'. A high 'B', but a 'B' nonetheless. I have no doubt in my mind you'll be able to raise it back up to an 'A', given we have five more quizzes and two more essays before the end of the year, as well as the final test and final essay. I know you'll probably get a perfect score on every single one of those. However, there's also the final speech at the end of the year. If you get a zero on that one, that's it. Your final grade won't be anything greater than a high 'B'. Which is a good grade…but I know you can do better than that."

Lilly nodded slowly, looking down at her lap.

Mrs. Alexander sighed patiently. "Lilly, I know you went through something traumatic. Something no child should ever have to go through. But I also know that your mother wouldn't want you to only exceed half your potential because of it. Neither of your parents would."

Lilly subtly shook her head to make her hair fall in front of her face, not wanting Mrs. Alexander to see her face. This conversation was different compared to yesterday with the Principal. It pissed her off that he thought he knew her and was trying to tell her she needed counseling and whatnot. But Mrs. Alexander was different. She had been close friends with Lilly's mom until she died. And she knew for a fact that Lilly's mom would, indeed, want her to live her life to the fullest, she wasn't just spouting crap to make Lilly feel better.

Finally, Lilly nodded silently, hoping there wasn't anything else that needed to be said. She heard her favorite teacher sigh quietly.

"Well, I guess that's all that needs to be said at the moment. You can go back to your desk."

Lilly nodded again before she headed back to sit sideways in her desk, so she could still face Paul, who was still sitting in the desk behind her.

The two talked for the rest of class, well Paul talked and Lilly would respond with her phone, and they both ignored the looks the other students were giving them. Paul could hear what they were whispering, though. A lot of them thought she was his next 'conquest', like Bridgette thought. But that actually wasn't the case at all. He wasn't sure if it was the wolf in him or not; but he just wanted to look out for her. The thought of having sex with her actually disgusted him. Not that she wasn't pretty, cause she was, but because she seemed more like a sister to him; like Kim and Emily. Funny how his opinion of her did a total 180 in only a couple hours. For someone who didn't talk, she actually had a bit of an attitude. And she was funny.

When the bell rang Paul, who already had his things, got up to leave the room while Lilly gathered up her books.

"Paul, a word please?" Mrs. Alexander called as she stood up from her desk, straightening some papers.

Paul turned and shoved past the students heading toward the door, stopping beside the teacher's desk.

"What's up Mrs. A?" he asked curiously.

The teacher glanced at Lilly before turning to look up at Paul. "I've noticed today that you've been acting rather…friendly towards Lilly." she whispered, not wanting Lilly to hear as she left the room.

"Um, is that a bad thing?" Paul asked in confusion.

The teacher sighed. "It is when I'm well aware of your reputation, Mr. Lahote. I know what you do with girls, and if you even think about-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa let me stop you right there." Paul put his free hand up as a sign to stop. "That's not what this is about. I'm not trying to…do _that_ to Lilly. Okay, she's different. I don't even see her that way. She's more like…a friend/little sister."

Mrs. Alexander looked up at him doubtfully for a moment before she responded. "Just don't hurt her, Paul. She's been though enough in her life without people like you trying to break her even more."

Paul nodded, for once his face a little solemn. "I won't. If I have anything to say about it, she won't get hurt at all, ever again."

Mrs. Alexander did a good job hiding her surprise on the outside, before she nodded, silently dismissing him to go to lunch.

As he went into the hallway he saw Lilly at her locker, switching most of her things out for a brown paper bag that smelled of turkey and potato chips. He also noticed she still kept her notepad she'd been drawing in under her arm.

"Hey, Lilly." Paul called as he approached. Lilly stood up with her lunch bag and pad, closing her locker as he came up to her.

"You want to eat lunch with me and my friends?" he asked curiously, "Kim and Embry will probably be there."

Lilly barely stopped her jaw from dropping in surprise. He was inviting her to sit with him and his friends? His friends as in the really tall, buff guys that everyone called 'Sam's Gang'? They didn't scare her, well most of them, and she was a little tempted to accept. But she really wanted to work on her sketch, she was almost done with it.

Pulling her phone out of her back pocket, she typed up her response before showing him, _'I think I'm going to eat outside, I have some stuff I need to work on.'_

Paul nodded after reading it. "Alright, well, if you change your mind, you know where to find us. Just look for the table of really tall, loud guys with trays of food two feet high." he answered jokingly, making Lilly giggle in response as she nodded.

Turning to go their separate ways, Paul headed for the lunch room. After standing in line and getting about three times the amount a normal person got, he headed toward the lunch table the pack usually sat at. Since he was a little later then normal, all the seats except one had been taken, so he sat there, in between Jared and Quil. Around the table clockwise, it was Paul, Quil, Embry, Jacob, Kim, and Jared.

Seth and Leah were still working on controlling themselves enough to come back to school. Well, Seth probably could handle it, being the laidback kid that he is, but he wanted to help his mom and sister as much as he could before going back to school, so he was waiting until Leah was ready.

A couple seconds after Paul sat down, Jacob's head snapped up, his sharp eyes staring a hole through Paul's head, though the other wolf didn't notice because he was too busy eating.

"Why do you smell like that?" Jake growled, his voice rumbling from deep in his chest. All conversation stopped as everyone at the table looked between the two wolves. Paul looked mildly confused.

"Smell like what?" he mumbled around a mouthful of cheeseburger.

"Cinnamon and green apples." Jake snarled, his eyes darkening in anger, "You smell like _her_."

Everyone was still a little confused, before Embry sniffed the air and his eyes widened. Paul, too, realized what Jake was referring to, but his face easily relaxed into a smirk.

"What's the matter, Baby Alpha? Not liking the fact that your mate's scent is all over me?" he asked smugly, goading Jake on. Jared pulled Kim closer to him, keeping his eye on Jake, who snarled.

"She's _not_ my mate. I'm just wondering why you smell like her when you _supposedly_ hate her."

Paul leaned back in his chair, his whole being radiating relaxation and arrogance. "Maybe, like every other girl around here, she can't get enough of me." he bragged again. He didn't really think of her that way, he just enjoyed getting Jake all riled up. It was humorous to Paul, that Black claimed he wanted nothing to do with the girl, but his wolf, like every other newly imprinted wolf, was extremely territorial.

"Paul." Jared warned under his breath, not wanting to have to drag Jake out of the school, should he lose control.

"Dude, knock it off." Embry rolled his eyes. "Seriously, why is Lil's scent all over you?"

Jake's eyes snapped to Embry, but he managed to keep his thoughts to himself. 'First Paul's saturated in her scent, and now Embry has a little nickname for her?'

Paul rolled his eyes. "You guys are no fun. Alright, fine. She was being pushed around by Bridgette and her little slut crew in the hall before our last class, and I got pissed and stepped in. Turns out Lilly's in my English class. Go figure."

"Well, she's pretty smart, and you aren't, so it makes sense that you guys are in the same class." Quil joked, earning a punch to the shoulder from Paul.

"Oh, I also invited her to sit with us at lunch, and-"

"WHAT?!" Jake snapped, "Are you crazy? She's not a member of the pack!"

" _And_ ," Paul continued in annoyance, "she said she couldn't, cause she wanted to work on something. I think she was drawing something during English class, so maybe that's what it was."

"Is she eating by herself?" Kim's soft voice was laced with concern. Paul simply shrugged, not really knowing.

"So what if she is?" Jake asked, his tone defensive, "She's survived this long without any friends, she'll be fine."

Quil shook his head. "Dude, when Abby finds out you imprinted on her granddaughter, she's gonna shoot you in between the eyes." he knew better than the rest of the pack what good a shot Abby was, hell she used to go on hunting trips with her husband, Old Quil, and some of the other guys; and she could hold her own with all the men.

Jake glared at his best friend. "Yeah, well she won't find out, cause I'm not gonna accept it, so there's really no point in telling her, or any of the Elders."

"Why are you so against her, Jake?" Kim asked quietly, her sad eyes boring into him as she tried to figure him out.

"It's not her I'm against. I'm against the imprint. If I weren't being forced into being with her, I wouldn't mind maybe being her friend. But the Spirits are trying to push me into being with her because she probably couldn't get a guy on her own."

Kim's eyes hardened, her body trembling. Jared tightened his grip around her waist, unsure what she was feeling.

"And here I thought the pack mind could come in handy. That maybe you could see through Jared and Sam's heads what a great thing imprinting is. Guess I was wrong. And I'm glad I finally know what you really think of me, too, Jake. Apparently the only reason Jared imprinted on me is because I couldn't 'get a guy on my own', huh?" her response was met with silence, a few of the guys looking down awkwardly at the table while Jared looked at her face, looking like he was in physical agony. Jake had the decency to look ashamed, not able to meet Kim's eyes.

"Look, Kim, I-"

"I don't want to hear it." she interrupted him, standing up from the table, "I think I'm going to go find Lilly and eat with her. This table suddenly seems too…negative." with that she picked up her tray and turned to leave.

Jared quickly stood up, glaring at Jake as he followed her. "You guys can stay here, I'm going with her." he murmured quietly to the others. They knew it was more a request than a suggestion. He wanted to be alone with Kim for a few moments to make sure she was okay.

Once they were out of earshot, everyone at the table turned and glared at Jake, who was staring at his tray silently.

Jared glanced worriedly at his imprint as they walked through the halls, holding their lunch trays. After a moment Kim looked over at him and asked, "Do you know where she is?"

Jared sniffed the air until he picked up her scent. "Yeah, she went this way." after a moment of silence, he asked gently, "Are you okay?"

Kim looked at the ground as she answered, "Yeah I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Kim," Jared breathed her name, gently grabbing her elbow so they would stop walking. "I know what Jake said hurt you. Talk to me." he pleaded.

Kim looked up at him, her eyes searching his. After a quiet moment, she spoke, "Is what he said true?" she asked quietly. "Is that all imprinting is?"

"No." Jared barely forced the snarl out of his voice, trying not to scare her. When he saw Jake again, he was going to kill him. "No, he was wrong, Kim. I already explained what imprinting is to you. Don't you remember what I said to you, that day in your backyard?" he urged gently.

'How could I forget?' she thought to herself, her mind filling with the memory. They had been sitting in her backyard because he said he needed to tell her something. He had told her how the legends were true, and explained what imprinting was. She'd been so excited that Jared would be hers and only hers, that she'd never given imprinting a second thought. She just felt blessed that someone as amazing as him was meant for her. After that they'd shared their first kiss, right there in her backyard. It was, quite literally for Kim, a dream come true.

But Jared's question brought his whole explanation back to the front of Kim's mind. "You said, 'Imprinting shows us our perfect match. The one person who completes us in every possible way. The wolf will be anything, and do anything, for his imprint.' Of course I remember that, Jared."

"Then why are you questioning it now?" he asked sadly.

Kim looked down and shrugged. "Well, obviously you could do better-"

"Stop." Jared's hand lifted her chin up until they were looking into each other's eyes, "You're it for me, Kim. You're all I'll ever want. I promise."

Kim smiled, relieved that he truly felt that way and wasn't being forced. She took his hand from her chin and started pulling him.

"Come on, we've gotta find Lilly before lunch is over." she urged him until he took the lead.

Lilly's scent lead them out the front doors of the school, to find her eating a sack lunch at a picnic table by herself. She had her sketchbook in front of her, a box of coloring pencils to one side, with an open paper bag on its side next to it. Two turkey sandwiches sat on a paper towel, with a small bag of chips and a can of _Sprite_ next to it. Lilly was coloring in her pad with a red coloring pencil, the sharpened tip barely touching the paper, and she'd occasionally stop to take a bite of her lunch. She had a gentle, content smile on her face as she worked.

"Hi Lilly." Kim greeted as they stopped by the picnic table. Lilly stopped her work as she looked up, a friendly smile greeting the two in front of her. She waved her free hand in greeting.

"Is it alright if we join you for lunch?" Jared asked politely. Lilly thought for a moment before she nodded, subtly moving her lunch bag over her pad as the other two sat across from her.

"So, are you excited for science class later?" Kim asked teasingly.

Lilly rolled her eyes with a smile before shrugging, taking a bite of her sandwich.

"What were you drawing?" Jared asked curiously as they ate, nodding toward the book under Lilly's lunch.

Lilly paused for a moment, looking hesitant. She chewed her lip as she got her phone out of her pocket to type a message.

 _'Nothing important.'_

"Could we see it? I've seen some of your work around the school. You're really good." Jared answered. Sometimes the art teacher would hang the great projects up in her hallway for other students to see, and Jared had seen several of Lilly's pictures.

Seeing how hesitant Lilly was, Kim put in, "You don't have to show us if you really don't want to. We understand."

Lilly shrugged and typed on her phone, _'It's embarrassing,'_.

"We won't laugh. Promise." Jared said, putting one hand over his heart with the other in the air like he was taking an oath. Lilly giggled silently as she thought about it. Slowly, debating if she should back out, Lilly slid her pad out from under her paper bag. She chewed her lip as she held it near her chest, still not sure she wanted to turn it around to show them. Finally, she heaved a deep sigh and turned the pad around to show them.

Jared nearly choked on the pop he'd been about to drink when she revealed the picture, and even Kim froze.

It was a wolf. A large wolf with a thick, russet-colored coat; a sandy-goldish colored underbelly and chest; and deep, dark brown eyes that were staring back into the soul of whoever was looking at him.

Kim looked over at Jared, silently wondering if it was a picture of anyone from the pack, or if it was just a coincidence. But Jared didn't look at her, his eyes fixed on the picture. He knew his pack brothers like the back of his hand, and he knew exactly who this picture was of.

Jacob.

Barely managing to swallow the lump that had grown in his throat, Jared finally spoke after Lilly awkwardly lowered her drawing back to the tabletop.

"That's, um…th-that's a really good picture. Great detail. Where, uh, where'd you get the idea to draw a wolf?" Jared asked carefully, stuttering over his words like an idiot. Silently, he was wondering if Jake had been making secret trips to Lilly's backyard without the rest of the pack knowing; and maybe Lilly saw him.

Lilly chewed her lip as she hesitantly typed something on her phone.

 _'You'll think I'm stupid'_

That response alone was enough for Jared to tense his muscles, and Kim was right there with him, silently panicking.

Barely managing to keep his voice steady, Jared responded with, "Try me."

Lilly sighed, her cheeks darker than normal, with a red undertone that suggested she was blushing as she typed away on her phone again.

 _'I had a nightmare, and the wolf saved me'_.

Jared's eyes widened slightly. That was not the answer he was expecting. An imprint having dreams about her wolf before she even knew about the shape-shifters? That was unheard of.

"What did the wolf save you from?" Kim asked gently, seeing that her boyfriend was temporarily shocked into silence.

Lilly looked away from them before shaking her head, showing she didn't want to talk about it.

They were quiet for a few moments, just picking at their food, before Kim spoke once again. "What do you think it means? You know, that a wolf of all creatures saved you. Do you think it means something?" she glanced between Jared and Lilly.

Lilly shrugged, not really sure.

"Have you had dreams like this in the past? Or is this the first time?" Jared asked gently, knowing they were making her a little uncomfortable.

Lilly once again started chewing her lip as she got out her phone.

 _'I've had the nightmare before, but last night was the first time the wolf appeared'._

Jared nodded slowly, thinking it over. "Maybe it means something," he started carefully, not wanting to give anything away to Lilly, but wanting her to feel like this was important, too. "I mean, our legends say that wolves are the Tribe's Protectors, right? Maybe this wolf is like your own personal Protector."

Lilly narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. It actually made sense, but why would the wolf suddenly appear now after so much time?

 **XXX**

 **Dun dun DUUUUNN!**

 **Just kidding. Anyway, I hope everyone liked this chapter, it was nice and long and full of all kinds of stuff. I hope Paul switching opinions so fast wasn't too corny, and I wanted to throw in Jared and Kim's talk, too.**

 **Let me know what you thought! : )**


	5. Chapter 5

Lilly walked out of her drawing class and headed down the hall with the crowd, only to have a hand appear out of nowhere to knock her things out of her hands. Papers, notebooks, and folders scattered at her feet for the second time that day.

Her eyes met Bridgette's as she passed, the older girl's lips pulled into a cruel smirk as she sauntered down the hall with her friends. Lilly sighed as she knelt down and started picking her things up, the crowd flowing around her like a river around a rock. She didn't really expect anyone to stop and help her. Most people weren't openly mean to her like Bridgette and her friends, they just didn't always know what to say. After all, how do you comfortably talk to someone who won't talk back?

She was brought out of her daze and into a sense of deja vu by a pair of large hands appearing before her and picking up some of her papers. She looked up, expecting to see Embry or Paul, or even Jared. But to her surprise, it was none of them. It was Quil Ateara.

He met her eyes and smiled at her before standing up with her things and offering his hand to her to help her stand up. Once she was back on her feet he handed her things to her, asking, "This just isn't a good day for you, is it?"

She grimaced slightly with a shrug.

Quil glanced in the direction Bridgette had gone, a slight glare in his eyes, before he turned back to her, his eyes gentle again. "Want me to walk you to your locker?"

Lilly blinked before her eyes widened at the question. What was with all these guys suddenly being nice to her? First Embry defending her in math, then Paul in the hallway, then Jared asking about her drawing, and now Quil. Not that she was complaining, but something was definitely up. Nonetheless, she nodded in answer, and the two walked towards her locker.

After getting her backpack filled with homework, the two then headed to Quil's locker as he chatted away about random things, from how stupid math was to a new movie he wanted to see in the theatre. Lilly listened silently, obviously, at times commenting with her phone. At first she felt awkward, and thought maybe he did, too. But he just kept talking, he even cracked a few jokes that made her laugh. He seemed perfectly at ease with the fact she didn't talk back.

After what seemed like only a few short minutes, they walked through the front doors of the school out to the crisp, overcast school yard. Quil was still chatting away and Lilly wondered if he ever stopped talking as her gaze swept over the lawn and parking lot. When she caught sight of a group of familiar, tall, muscular boys her eyes gravitated to one of them only to meet a pair of dark, glaring eyes.

Lilly froze as she seemed to have a staring contest with Jacob Black, feeling as if he were glaring through her very soul.

Unnerved, she quickly looked away from him and cleared her throat to get Quil's attention. When he stopped talking and looked down at her she backed up and jerked her thumb over her shoulder, indicating she needed to go, and waved at him.

He smiled, though he looked mildly confused as he said, "Okay, well, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" she nodded, a nervous smile in place before she turned and hurried off the front steps and across the yard.

Quil watched Lilly leave, confused at why she suddenly seemed so nervous and edgy. He noticed as she was walking away she kept casting nervous glances towards the parking lot. Quil looked in the same direction, and immediately sighed when his eyes found Jake trying to glare a hole in the poor girl's head.

Shaking his head at his idiot friend, Quil made his way over to where most of the pack had gathered around Jared's truck. As soon as he reached them he shoved Jake hard in the shoulder, "Lay off, dude. You're scaring her."

Jake ignored the comment and glared at Quil, "Now you're hanging out with her, too? How many 'friends' does she need?" he asked, using his fingers as air quotes on the word 'friends'.

"As many as she can get." Quil answered with a glare before turning to Paul, who was watching the exchange with everyone else, "You said it was Bridgette who knocked her things down this morning, right?" Paul nodded, his brows furrowed. "Yeah, she did it again." at this a few growls erupted from some of the pack, mainly Jared, Embry, and Paul.

"Is there any way I can get away with hitting a girl?" Paul asked with a snarl, his fists clenched as he tried to stop the shaking.

"Dude, calm down. We have other things to worry about." Jared announced, making the rest of the pack look at him in confusion, except Kim. She looked at the ground in a failed attempt to hide the fact she knew what he was talking about.

"Please tell me the redhead's in the area so I have something to take my anger out on." Paul pleaded, a glint of excitement in his eyes.

Jared rolled his eyes at his best friend. "You wish. But no, we're having a meeting at Billy's. I called Sam after lunch so he could set it up, and we're going to tell the Elders about Jake's imprinting," Jake looked like he was going to protest so Jared swept on, " _AND_ something happened at lunch that I want to tell the pack and Elders about."

"Aw, come on, I said I was sorry!" Jake whined, looking between Jared and Kim, obviously thinking it was about what he said to Kim about imprinting.

Jared snarled at him, gently pulling Kim a little behind his shoulder, "It's not about that, but don't worry I'll rip your throat out for that later. This is something entirely different."

"I take it it's about Lilly." Embry murmured worriedly.

Jared nodded once, looking at the floor. "The meeting starts when we get there, so lets get going." he said as he ushered Kim into the front passenger seat of his truck.

XXX

When Lilly got home she noticed her Gran's car was home, but when she entered the house it was empty apart from the hyper little dog bouncing at her legs. When she entered the kitchen she noticed a note on the fridge and read it:

 _Lilly,_

 _I have to go to a Council meeting at Billy's. Sue's driving me and_

 _then the Elders are having dinner at her place. If you don't feel_

 _like joining us old folk there's plenty of leftovers you can heat_

 _up. Do your homework too please._

 _Love Gran_

Lilly smiled at the note before taking Dash out in the backyard. After he finished doing his business she decided to play catch with him for a bit before she started her homework.

XXX

The pack slowly trickled into Billy's crowded living room, trying to find room standing since most of the seats were already taken. Sam was standing between Billy's wheelchair and the couch, which seated Sue, Abby, and Old Quil. Jared, Kim, Embry, Jake, and Paul formed a semicircle in front of the Elders; Paul and Embry practically holding Jake in place since he wanted to make a run for it. Quil, Seth, and Leah stood behind the couch, Quil behind his grandfather while Seth and Leah stood behind their mother.

"Alright Sam, now that everyone's present, what's this all about?" Billy asked curiously, his hands folded in his lap.

"I think that's something Jake would like to announce." Sam stated expectantly, looking at Jake with a hard expression.

Jake folded his arms over his chest and glared Sam in the eye. "I'm not saying a damn thing." he answered firmly, his voice tight with anger.

"Jake, just say it." Jared snapped, his patience with Jake wearing thin after the day's events.

Jake glared at him. "No! I refuse to accept any of this, I'm not saying anything."

"Oh for crying out loud." Quil muttered under his breath.

"Jake imprinted." Sam announced with a tired voice, looking down at Billy.

Billy's eyes widened before he looked over to his son, whose head was down. "Jake, that's great news!" he exclaimed happily, hoping maybe with an imprint his son could get over the pain Bella caused him.

Jake's eyes flashed with anger as he looked at his father. "No. No it's not. I didn't ask for this! I didn't ask for any of it! I didn't want to turn into a giant dog! And I definitely didn't want some random girl the spirits thought would be perfect for me!"

Everyone glanced among themselves, trying to decide what to say in response. Finally deciding to break the silence, Sue asked, "So, who is she?"

Quil snorted in an attempt to stop himself from laughing, but that just caused Paul to laugh. That in turn caused Jared's lips to tilt up, so he turned and buried his face in Kim's hair to try and hide his smile. Sam shook his head and placed his hand on his forehead, but he was secretly hiding an amused smile of his own. The Elders looked around them in confusion.

"What's so funny about that?" Abby asked hesitantly. That simply caused Quil to burst out laughing with Paul as Embry chuckled quietly. Jake glared at all of them in turn, trying to hide his nervousness.

"Oh my god," Leah whispered under her breath in annoyance before speaking to the Elders, "They're laughing because one of you is going to be very pissed off when you hear who he imprinted on."

All the Elders in turn took on suspicious looks as they simultaneously turned to look at Jacob intensely. Jake tried to avoid looking at any of them in the eye, but he slipped up for a second and met eyes with Abby before looking away in fear.

Abby's eyes went wide as her body lurched up into a standing position. "No!" she shouted in denial. "No, you didn't!" All the other Elders' eyes widened when they realized who Jake imprinted on. Jake flinched at her outburst before he tried to defend himself.

"What's the big deal if I did? You know we can't control it, and anyway, I'm going to fight it. It's not like she's going to be dragged into it like Kim and Emily were."

"'What's the big deal'?" Abby repeated angrily, "I wouldn't be so angry if it were any other situation. Sure, I don't want my granddaughter dragged into this world at all, but if it were any other situation I'd take it. It's the fact that it's _YOU_ who imprinted on her!" she shouted, throwing a hand out to gesture to him, "If it were anyone else, I'd be fine with it. I'd almost prefer _Paul_ to you!"

That last statement was like a punch in the gut. 'Ouch' Jake thought while Paul snorted beside him.

"Not that I care," Jake muttered, "but why?" He kept his eyes down. Abby's presence was not only intimidating, it was similar to the air Sam exuded, almost alpha-esque. It wasn't just the human, but the _wolf_ in Jake nearly cowered under her piercing black eyes.

"Because of the fact that I know you." Abby answered quietly, her eyes watering as she glared him down, "I know you think you love Bella, and that you hate the very idea of imprinting. I know you're going to just end up hurting my only granddaughter. She's been through enough pain in her lifetime, both physical and otherwise. This imprint is just going to break her. If it weren't against the Council and Pack's laws, I'd ban you from seeing her at all, but I can't."

All the laughter and humor from before had dissipated during Abby's speech, everyone looking at the floor awkwardly as Jake fidgeted.

Against his better judgment, Jake decided to speak, "You don't have to worry about banning me from seeing her, because like I said, I'm fighting the imprint. You don't have to worry about her getting hurt if I stay away from her."

Abby scoffed and shook her head in disbelief. But before she could speak, Jared cleared his throat and raised his hand, silently waiting for his turn to speak.

"Yes Jared?" Billy asked as Sue gently urged Abby to sit back down.

"Now that we got that announcement out of the way, there's one more thing I'd like to bring up," he paused as he met Abby's eyes, "about Lilly."

Abby leaned over, her elbows rested on her knees with her face in her palms as she tried desperately to keep herself together. Sue put her arm around the older woman's shoulders in an attempt to comfort her. And even young Quil surprised everyone by resting his hand on her back in his own attempt to comfort her.

"Continue Jared." Billy suggested quietly. Jared glanced worriedly at Abby before nodding to Billy as he spoke.

"Well, Kim and I left the pack's lunch table to eat lunch with Lilly outside, and she was drawing something while she ate." he turned to Abby, who had managed to lift her head, "Were you aware that Lilly was having nightmares?"

Abby looked a mixture of confused and concerned. "What? No, I…she never mentioned anything in particular. I mean, it's common to have a nightmare or two every once in a while. Why?"

"Lilly mentioned having had a nightmare before, she didn't say how many times, but I feel like it's a regular occurrence, but again, I could be wrong. Anyway, she sketched out a picture of, um,…something that saved her from whatever was in her nightmare."

"And that would be?" Sam asked, getting mildly impatient with Jared's cryptic statements.

Jared looked at Sam, then allowed his eyes to sweep over everyone in the room before they settled on Jake, who was just as curious as everyone else.

"It was a russet-colored wolf."

Everyone's mouths fell open as they looked at Jake in shock, and his own face matched theirs.

"When did this wolf start appearing in her dreams?" Old Quil broke the silence.

"She said she's had the nightmare before, but last night was the first time the wolf saved her. The picture looked exactly like you." Jared added to Jake, who still hadn't recovered from his shock. After a moment, Jake found his voice.

"You mean, it looked like any other russet-colored wolf, or-"

"I mean, it was unmistakably _YOU,_ Jake. All the way down to the eyes, it was definitely you." Jared answered firmly, watching Jake's expression. Again, he was silent, along with everyone else in the room, as he tried to gather his thoughts.

"What does this mean?" he finally asked in a quiet voice, looking over at his father.

Billy glanced over at the other Elders, who returned his look. "It's hard to say what this means. We'll have to look into some of the older legends to see if anything like this has ever happened before. I can't think of anything off the top of my head."

"Do you think it might be because she's the mate of the rightful Alpha?" Sam asked uncertainly.

Jake tensed. "Nobody said anything about 'mates'." he grumbled under his breath.

"It's hard to say." Billy answered Sam's question before turning to Jared, "Lilly didn't say anything about what the wolf saved her from?"

Jared shook his head. "No. When we asked she just shook her head. I don't think she wanted to answer."

Billy nodded, his eyes staring thoughtfully into space. "Well, if that's everything, I guess we can draw this meeting to a close."

Everyone nodded as they moved around the room, some heading for the door. Needing to think, Jake decided to head for his garage. He hadn't been out there in about a week. As he made his way toward the back door, his eyes met Abby's as she stood up with Sue. Ignoring Sue's tugging on her arm, Abby made her way to stand before Jake, her five foot frame tiny compared to his nearly seven foot as she craned her neck back to stare sternly up at him.

"I'm warning you just this once, Jacob Black. If you hurt my granddaughter, so help me, I will not hesitate to get out my shotgun."


	6. Chapter 6

Lilly lay sprawled out on her stomach on her bed, her laptop a foot in front of her playing her music play list, currently on one of her favorite songs from the _Hunchback of Notre Dame_ movie sequel from a few years back, and her sketchbook before her as she worked on the third sketch of Her Wolf. She hadn't written that for a title on any of her pictures, she'd simply taken to calling him 'Her Wolf'. The previous night, Wednesday night, she'd had another nightmare; and like the night before, Her Wolf had come to her rescue.

The first sketch she'd made, the one she'd shown Jared and Kim on Wednesday, was a simple sketch of Her Wolf looking at her, like he had right after he saved her in the dream. In the second sketch, she drew him howling to the moon on a cliff. Finally, the sketch she was currently working on was of Her Wolf, his lips pulled back in a snarl, his dark brown eyes full of hatred and, somehow, a warm, protective gleam. She knew anyone who looked at this picture would simply see a snarling wolf. But Lilly saw the expression on Her Wolf's face as he protected her from the attacker in her nightmare.

"Lilly! Dinner!" her Gran's voice called from down the hall. Lilly lifted her pencil from her pad, admiring her work for a moment before smiling in approval. She turned off her laptop and closed her sketchbook, leaving both on her bed as she left her room. When she neared the end of the hall she heard something like a cross between a gasp and a strangled yelp followed by a crash, a dull thump, and the sound of glass shattering.

Lilly hurried around the corner to the kitchen, Dash scurrying ahead of her. The sight before her brought her to a skidding halt, her breath hitching in fear.

Near the kitchen counter, her Gran laid sprawled out on the kitchen floor, her body twisted awkwardly at the waist, her hands braced on the floor as she tried to push herself up, and her face contorted in pain. Near her feet lay the old, wobbly stepstool that'd been in their house since her Gran and Granddad got it as a wedding gift. It was turned on its side to show it had obviously tipped. And around her lay the shattered remains of one or two drinking glasses.

Dash was whimpering as he tried to nose his way toward the aging woman. Seeing all the glass shards around the floor, Lilly quickly pushed him out of the kitchen, holding her hand up with her palm facing him in a silent command to stay, which he obeyed, whimpers continuing to leave his throat. Lilly hurriedly knelt near her Gran's head, hissing when she accidentally put her hand down right on a piece of glass. She mentally cursed herself for being so stupid as blood slowing started seeping out of the cut on her right palm.

Hearing her Gran groan in pain, Lilly immediately ignored her own pain and gently helped her grandmother sit up and lean back against the kitchen counter, making the aging woman hiss in pain.

"Lilly, get the phone and call the hospital." she hissed through her clenched teeth. Lilly stood up and grabbed the cordless phone off the wall, before she froze, staring down at the phone, her heart and head at war with one another. Abby looked up and saw the emotions flashing in her granddaughter's eyes. Lilly met her eyes, tears welling up at the fact that she was actually having to think about this. Think about whether or not she could call the hospital to get help for her injured grandmother. Abby sighed, before lifting her hand.

"Give me the phone." she ordered quietly. Lilly sighed sadly, handing it over before kneeling down on the kitchen floor, her eyes on her legs as she listened to her Gran dial three numbers into the phone.

"Hello, I need an ambulance. I fell off my step stool in my kitchen and it hurts to move." Abby spoke quietly into the phone, and Lilly knew she was trying to keep the pain out of her voice, trying to sound strong. "No, my granddaughter is here with me." she was quiet as she listened to the person on the other line. "No, she can't." she answered, her voice quiet for a different reason, making Lilly look away in pain, her eyes pricking. Abby's head snapped up suddenly, her widening eyes making Lilly look at her in worry.

"No, send another ambulance." Abby spoke with a cold voice that Lilly had never heard before. "I don't care if the other one is too far, I don't want to go to the Forks hospital." she demanded firmly. "So, I'll wait an extra hour if I have to, I'm not going to Forks General." Lilly looked at her in confusion and bewilderment. She'd never seen her Gran act or talk like that. After a moment, Abby deflated with a heavy sigh, her shoulders drooping. "Okay, fine. Whatever…Yes, thank you." she hung up the phone, sighing as she dropped her head back against the kitchen counter, closing her eyes. After a moment she opened them and looked over at Lilly. She looked her over before her eyes fell on Lilly's hand, which Lilly realized was covered in blood from her cut.

"Lilly, wrap that hand to try and stop the bleeding. You can use one of the old ugly dishtowels under the sink." Abby ordered tiredly, and Lilly stood up to do what she asked. Under the sink was a collection of ugly hand towels that were a snot-green color that Lilly's Great Grandma on her Grandpa's side, Abby's mother-in-law, had gotten Abby for Christmas a long time ago. So, her Gran often did what she could to ruin the little towels so she'd have an excuse to get rid of them without being rude.

So, Lilly tied one of the towels around her bleeding hand, having a little difficulty tying it with one hand, but she managed.

They sat in silence for a while as they waited for the ambulance, and Lilly could tell her Gran wanted to say something. When she finally spoke, all she said was, "Put Dash in your room and close the door, please. I don't want him getting under anyone's feet when the paramedics get here." Lilly could tell by her tone that wasn't what she wanted to say, but she did as her Gran asked, lifting the little dog in her arms.

Dash whimpered as he wriggled in her arms to lick her cheek, not liking what was happening no doubt. She sat him on her bed, moving her laptop and pad to her desk so he didn't walk on them. She scratched the little dog's ears and kissed his head before leaving the room and closing the door.

After another ten minutes or so, Lilly heard the sound of sirens gradually growing louder as they approached. She opened the front door and waited, watching silently as the ambulance slid to a screeching halt in front of their house. When a few paramedics got out and started hurrying towards their front door with a stretcher, Lilly stepped out of their way to allow them in the door. She stayed off to the side of the front door as the paramedics did their work. When they finally walked past her out the door with her Gran lying on the stretcher, she followed them out, not bothering to do more than close the front door behind her.

She waited near the back of the ambulance as they loaded Abby into the back of the vehicle, when her eyes caught something across the street. Looking over, she saw Seth Clearwater watching from his front lawn. The Clearwaters' had lived across from her Gran for as long as she could remember, and Abby used to baby-sit the two when they were younger. However, Lilly hadn't seen either of the Clearwater kids since Harry's funeral the week before, and then she wasn't exactly paying attention to the other teenagers attending the funeral. But now that she was getting a good look at him, Seth looked _very_ different. He had to be at least six inches taller than he used to be, and he didn't have any baby fat left on him anywhere. His cheekbones looked more pronounced and he was sporting a six-pack, which was very visible due to his lack of a shirt. Lilly was also shocked to see that he had a tattoo on his shoulder, she would have never expected Sue to allow her children to get a tattoo, especially her fourteen year old son. She just met Seth's worried eyes when someone called her name. Turning, Lilly followed the last paramedic into the back of the ambulance, holding her Grandma's hand the whole drive.

XXX

In the center of the Quileute Reservation, under the cover of the trees, three large wolves were racing through the dense, green foliage. Black, silver, and russet brown. Two of them were patrolling, like they were supposed to do. The third, however, was only there to verbally attack his pack mate, maybe even physically should it come down to it.

 _"Paul, would you just get the hell out of here?"_ Jake snarled as he ran the border, trying to concentrate despite his pack brother's annoying comments.

 _"Why should I? I have as much right to be out here as you do."_ Paul taunted. _"And no, I'm not going to leave. If I have to, I'll beat some sense into your thick skull."_

 _"I'm not going to accept the imprint. I won't. I don't even know her!"_

 _"None of us did, Jake."_ Sam pointed out, _"I still don't know her, but the guys are at least making an effort to get to know her. Hell, even_ Paul _probably knows her better than you do by now!"_

 _"Yeah, after not even realizing she was in his English class this whole year? Oh, sure he's totally the one I'll go to for advice."_ Jake drawled sarcastically as he loped around the border, approaching the main road in the Reservation only a mile away. _"And he only started getting to know her because she was getting shoved around by a bunch of other girls."_

 _"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't realize you only liked girls that were surrounded by either boys who want in her pants, or bloodsuckers who only want to suck her dry. My bad!"_ Paul taunted, flashing images of Bella and her bloodsucker in his mind for Jake to see.

 _"Shut up, Paul! You don't-"_ Jake stopped talking and slowed his pace to a trot, his ears pricking to attention as he neared the road. He watched from between the trees as the wailing grew louder and louder until a Forks General Ambulance flew by. Jake's nostrils flared as the scent drifted to his nose, a jerk in his chest telling him to follow. Blood, bleach,…cinnamon and green apples! Lilly!

 _"What?!"_ Paul and Sam's voices shouted as they heard his thoughts, changing their directions to head towards him.

 _"Lilly's in that ambulance! Why is she in an ambulance? I thought you said we'd feel it if our imprint was hurt?"_ Jake asked Sam frantically, turning to a slight gallop after the ambulance.

 _"Maybe you didn't feel anything because you're a douche bag who's denying the imprint."_ Paul thought snidely. Jake ignored him and focused on Sam again.

 _"Should…Should we maybe follow it? I mean, it's heading to the Forks hospital, and my dad said the Cullen got his job at the hospital back. So, doesn't that put her at risk? Shouldn't we go to make sure she's okay?"_

 _"Wow. And I thought you wanted nothing to do with her."_ Jake could literally _hear_ the smirk in Paul's voice at that comment, and Jake knew he was overreacting, but that was more the wolf than him. He was barely stopping his wolf from charging over to Forks as it was.

 _"Sam!"_ he whined, sounding like a spoiled brat, but he was sick of Paul's comments.

 _"Alright, alright. This is what we'll do. We can't run through Forks in wolf form with the Cullens back in town. We'll head to my place and get my truck. If it was anything serious, Abby would've at least called Billy."_ Sam reasoned as the three headed toward Sam and Emily's house. They quickly phased out at the edge of the trees, pulling their shorts on and hurrying to the house. They found Jared and Embry sitting on the living room couch watching a basketball game, and the smells coming from the kitchen suggested Emily was cooking in the kitchen.

"Embry, can you go run a couple rounds quick on your own? We need to go to Forks hospital." Sam ordered quickly as the trio hurried into the kitchen.

Embry and Jared exchanged a wide-eyed look before standing and following their pack brothers.

"Wait, what? Why? What's going on?" Embry demanded, a step behind Jared.

Paul grabbed a few cookies off Emily's pan when she wasn't looking before running to Sam's room to grab three shirts for them, while Jake hurried out to Sam's truck and Sam turned to address his Beta and other pack mate, his arm wrapping around Emily's waist.

"Because we were just out there, and a Forks ambulance drove by with the sirens on, and Jake said Lilly's scent was there, and the imprint was tugging him toward Forks. So we're going to check it out. I just want you to run maybe two rounds and you should be good until Leah and Quil take over." Sam explained before he kissed Emily's cheek and turned to leave.

"Wait, Lilly's in the hospital?!" Embry demanded, "I-"

"No." Sam turned back to them, already knowing Embry was going to ask to come, "Jake, Paul, and I are going to check out what's going on. I want you to run patrol, we can't have the whole pack crossing into the Cullens' territory. As soon as we find out what's going on, I'll give one of you a call and fill everyone in." Sam stated firmly, his tone leaving no room for argument as he turned and hurried out to his truck. Him and Paul rode in the cab while Jacob rode in the bed of the truck.

The drive felt like the longest drive in their lives, but they reached the hospital within fifteen minutes. Sam grabbed Jake's shoulder before he could rush into the hospital ahead of them, forcing the teen to walk at the same pace as the other two. They entered the glass sliding doors with Jake and Paul flanking their Alpha, the youngest barely holding his place despite his claim of not caring about his imprint.

"Hello, can you tell me if a Lillian Fuller was admitted today?" Sam asked the receptionist politely, ignoring how the college-aged brunette was eyeing him and his companions.

"Sure thing." she flirted as she turned to her computer screen, typing away on her keyboard. After a moment, she turned back to them, "It says that a woman named Abigail Fuller was admitted for a hip injury, and that her granddaughter came with her. Does that name sound familiar?" she asked, her tone annoyingly coy and flirty despite what they were discussing.

Sam glanced at Paul before looking back at her, his serious, blank face saying he had no interest in the woman. "Yes, we know Abby. Could you tell us where her granddaughter is waiting for her?"

The woman looked it up and gave them directions to the waiting room Lilly was most likely in.

XXX

Lilly sat silently in a corner chair of the waiting room. She was the only one in the room, allowing her to sit, the guilt festering in her belly as she rubbed her thumb over the bandage that was covering the cut on her hand.

The squeak of sneakers on the tile floor distracted her thoughts, and sensing more than one presence she looked up to find three familiar giants looking at her from the entrance to the small waiting room.

Jacob looked at her hand before entering the room, coming to a stop in front of her. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly, keeping a careful, stoic mask over his expression.

Lilly shrugged before looking back down at her shoes.

Paul silently took the seat next to her, Jacob sat in the chair on the opposite side of the end table in the corner, and Sam sat on Jake's other side.

"Lilly, can you tell us what happened?" Sam asked gently. Lilly ignored how Jake winced and dug her phone out of her pocket. She'd long gotten used to the fact that some people weren't comfortable using 'talking' terms around her. It was just something they would have to deal with.

Typing out a quick version of what happened, she handed Sam her phone to read over. He read it out loud for the other two before handing it back to her. "Have you heard anything on how she's doing?" he asked gently.

Lilly just shook her head. No one had updated her since they entered the building. She had no idea how her grandmother was doing, and not knowing scared her.

Apart from Sam stepping into the hall to make a few phone calls, the group sat in silence for about fifteen minutes. A quiet grumbling in her stomach finally made Lilly stop thinking about her guilt, realizing she hadn't eaten anything since an apple around 4:00 and it was going on 7:30.

 _'I'm going to the vending machine.'_ she typed out the quick message and showed it to Paul. When he nodded she stood and left the room, making a left turn in the direction of the nearest vending machine. She heard Jake ask where she was going, but she knew Paul could tell him.

At the vending machine, she put in a dollar and decided on a bag of _Doritos_. After punching in the numbers, she leaned over to pull the small bag from the space at the bottom. When she stood and turned to go back to the waiting room, her shoulder crashed into what felt like another shoulder, but the cold, hard build made her head snap up and her body freeze. The gold-colored eyes that met hers kept flashing between red and gold in her mind.

"My apolog-" he stopped talking and stared at her in confusion. They stood there for little more than two seconds before Lilly was suddenly surrounded by scorching heat as Jake shoved her behind him, out of sight of the Cullen he hated more than any of them.

Edward's eyes immediately took on a cold edge as he eyed the 'mutts' standing before him.

"You're in violation of the Treaty." he hissed quietly, not wanting to attract attention, "This is our territory."

"The Treaty also states that we can't _protect_ anyone in your territory. If we're here without causing any trouble or presenting a threat, we're not in violation. We wouldn't be here if it weren't important." Sam stated firmly, stepping up to stand just ahead of Jake's shoulder.

Edward narrowed his eyes at Sam, probably scanning Sam's thoughts to figure out why they were there. After a few moments, his eyes switched to glare at Jacob.

"Another part of the Treaty states that you are to keep our existence a secret." he hissed angrily.

Jake's glare broke for a second as the confusion filled his thoughts. "What are you talking about?"

Edward's eyes switched to look down at Lilly, who was still standing frozen behind Jake's shoulder.

"She knows what I am."

 **XXX**

 **Dun dun duuuuuunn!**

 **I couldn't wait a week to upload this, I was getting too impatient! Finally things are starting to pick up a little bit.**

 **I know I left you all at a bit of a cliff hanger, but if you guys are super nice in the reviews maybe I'll upload the next chapter within a couple days. That's fair, right?**


	7. Chapter 7

The three wolves stiffened, simultaneously looking down at Lilly in shock, but she was unaware of the world around her, her fearful eyes fixed firmly on Edward as her whole body trembled. Edward's perplexed eyes switched from one wolf to the other as he read their thoughts.

"You didn't tell her?" he checked to verify what he was picking up.

Sam was the first to snap out of the shock, looking back at Edward with a blank expression. "No, we didn't tell her, we weren't even aware she knew about your kind until now. However, we would've told her at some point."

"Ah yes. Imprinting, correct?" Edward smirked as he met Jacob's still-confused eyes, "I'm sure Bella will love to hear that you've moved on from her, Jacob."

Jake snarled, baring his teeth at his enemy. "Don't you dare tell her, parasite! Just because I imprinted on her doesn't mean I don't love Bella. I love her more than you ever will. At least I didn't leave her in the woods!"

Edward hissed, baring his fangs at Jacob. The sight caused Lilly to flinch and shake more, her eyes going blank as she was lashed with memories. Edward stopped and looked back at her, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully as he examined her memories. Flashes of blood, fire, and red eyes filled her thoughts, switching so violently he couldn't really keep up.

With a loud growl, Jake stepped in front of Lilly, getting in Edward's face, "Get the hell out of her head, bloodsucker."

Edward smirked at him. "What's the matter, Jacob? You don't like the fact that I seem to know more about your imprint than you do?"

Jake took a threatening step forward, but Sam grabbed his shoulder to keep him from attacking. "Enough Jacob. If you attack you're in the wrong, we're on their territory."

"Jake."

Paul's quiet voice made Jake look over his shoulder to see his pack brother looking worriedly down at Lilly, his hand on her back. Her whole body was trembling and she was gasping for ragged breaths, her shoulders, back, and chest heaving violently. Her eyes had fogged over as they flickered back and forth. Jake could feel the fear rolling off her in waves.

In the blink of an eye, Jake was in front of her, leaning over her and gripping her shoulders as he looked into her eyes.

"Hey, Lilly. Look at me. Come on, look at me." Jake pleaded.

"She keeps seeing red eyes, blood, and fire." Edward put in, watching curiously. Paul snarled and stepped around Jake and Lilly, putting himself between his enemy and his pack brother's imprint.

"I think you were already told to stay the hell out of her head, leech." Paul snarled, ignoring Sam's hand on his shoulder.

"Kind of hard to do when she's got such loud thoughts." Edward hissed, glaring up at Paul before mumbling, "One thing she has in common with Jacob."

"Lilly, please just look at me, okay. I'm not going to let anything hurt you." Jake kept whispering to her, his face only about five or six inches from hers. All the scorn and anger he'd felt for her had vanished, replaced by the fear that she was going to have a heart attack or pass out from hyperventilating. His hands moved of their own will until he was cupping her cheeks, his warmth chasing away the cold, dark fear that had engulfed her. "I'll protect you." the whispered words echoed in Lilly's thoughts, chasing the terrifying memories away until her vision went black for just a moment. Then, the darkness faded away until Jacob's face was right in front of her. She blinked a few times to clear the blurriness away and to make sure she wasn't still seeing things. She didn't even realize that her own hands had come up to grip Jake's wrists, keeping his hands from leaving her cheeks.

Seeing her golden brown and green eyes clear the fog away as she looked up at him, Jake smiled wearily down at her, his lips parted as he breathed. "Hey. You okay now?" he asked quietly.

He actually felt her cheeks heat up and darken ever so slightly as she looked down, nodding her head twice in answer. Realizing she was holding his hands to her face, she dropped her hands and wrapped her arms around her middle self-consciously, but she didn't step away from him.

"Jake!"

Lilly flinched involuntarily, stepping closer to Jake without even noticing it as Jake snapped to attention, his back straight as he turned just enough to look over his shoulder.

Bella in all her creamy-skinned, thick brown haired glory was practically flying down the hallway towards them. The mind reader wrapped an arm around her stomach and pulled her back before she could get any closer to the wolves, causing her to look up at him with a confused pout. Looking back at Jake, she looked around at the others, barely sparing Lilly a glance.

"Jake, what's going on? Is it Vict-" Edward pulled her closer and hushed her in her ear as a nurse walked by, giving the group a confused look before continuing.

"No, we're just here because we're waiting for someone who's being treated at the moment." Sam answered, knowing Jake couldn't answer judging by the pained expression he was trying to hide and the trouble he was having swallowing.

Bella looked confused. "Who could it possibly be? None of the pack-"

"It's none of your business, leech-lover." Paul snarled, cutting her off before she could say anything else that a passerby could overhear.

Edward hissed at Paul, pulling Bella behind him as he snapped, "Don't talk to her like that, you mongrel!"

Lilly gasped in fear and suddenly gripped Jake's wrist in both her hands, stepping closer to practically hide behind him. Jake had been silently watching his pack brothers deal with the girl of his dreams, but the sound his imprint made caused his eyes to snap down to look at her, and realized if he didn't step in she'd be in the same state she was earlier. His left hand was immobile in her firm grip, so he brought his right hand up to frame her cheek, causing her to look up at him.

"You're okay." he whispered, leaning down just a bit to make sure she'd hear him. "It's okay."

"Jake? Since you're not doing anything, do you want to hang out? I know Charlie would love to see you again." Bella suggested hopefully. Paul mentally scoffed. 'Not doing anything? Did she not hear that we're waiting for someone in the _hospital_?' Edward glared at him.

Jake looked over his shoulder at his childhood best friend, not knowing what to do. On the one hand, he'd love nothing more than to hang out with her like they'd always done before her bloodsucker came back. But on the other hand, something was obviously going on with Lilly, and she was terrified of the vampire. He couldn't leave her when she was like this. If anything, he wanted to get _Lilly_ away from this damn hospital. The leech's scent was everywhere, and his wolf was going crazy at the thought of his enemy this close to his imprint.

"We'd never hurt her, Jacob." Edward answered, making Bella look up at him.

Jake snarled at him, giving him a mental warning to get out of his head.

Bella looked back at Jake and seemed to finally notice the girl standing with him, holding his hand.

"Jake, who's that?" Bella asked innocently, looking up at her best friend with her big, doe brown eyes.

Jake tried to swallow, but found his throat closing up. Feeling overwhelmed between the pain, anger, and fear of Lilly being here; he finally looked away from Bella and looked down at Lilly. She had been watching him the whole time, her body still shivering and he didn't know if she was cold or still a little scared. Wanting to solve either problem, he tugged her closer and wrapped his free arm around her back, holding her to him. He looked over at his Alpha pleadingly, "Sam?" he whispered desperately.

Sam nodded to him. "Why don't you and Paul get her over to Emily's? I'll wait for any updates and keep everyone posted." he suggested, fishing his keys from his pocket.

The scent of leech suddenly intensified, causing the three wolves to stiffen and freeze, Jake's grip accidentally constricting around Lilly's tiny body.

Dr. Cullen approached the group with a confused expression despite his friendly smile. He glanced at Edward, who whispered something about him and Bella wanting to visit for his lunch break. The Dr. nodded with a small smile before turning back to the wolves.

"Hello Sam, is there something I can do for you?" he asked pleasantly.

"We're just here waiting for someone who's being treated." Sam answered curtly, his face expressionless.

Dr. Cullen looked down at the clipboard in his hands, lifting one paper to look at one underneath, "And would that patient happen to be Abigail Fuller?" he asked looking up, "I noticed in her records it said she was of Quileute descent." he explained. Sam gave another stiff nod, uncomfortable that one of their Elders was not only injured, but at the mercy of their enemy.

"She's safe. Carlisle would never hurt her." Edward explained, looking at Sam.

"Do any of you happen to know a Lillian Fuller? It says she's her granddaughter." Carlisle continued, ignoring Edward's comment.

Lilly peaked around Jake's body at the sound of her name, but when her eyes fell on the doctor, she tensed up in fear.

"She recognizes him as being a vampire, so she's scared of him." Edward explained, once again digging through her thoughts.

"What?" Bella asked in disbelief, turning to Jake, "You told her about them? I thought the whole point of the Treaty was to keep their secret. You can't just go tell random people about them, Jake!"

Jake opened his mouth to reply, slightly irritated that she'd just assume he'd tell a random girl, but Paul beat him to it.

"Who says she's just a random girl?" he taunted, "If anything, she has more obligation to know about all this than you do. She-" Jake snarled a warning, cutting Paul off before he could tell Bella what Lilly was to him.

"What Paul means to say," Sam spoke, giving the two a warning look, "is that we didn't tell Lilly about 'them'," he nodded towards the two Cullens, "even though we would have eventually, it appears she already knew about them somehow."

"I could easily tell you how she knows if her memories weren't so haywire." Edward pointed out, his voice almost smug. Jake snarled at him.

"I already told you how many times to stay the hell out of her head." he growled, pushing Lilly towards Paul to get in Edward's face. "If we wanted to know how she knows about all this, we can ask her. We don't need you interfering with anything."

"Jake, calm down, he's just trying to help." Bella interrupted, stepping between the two even though Edward was trying to tug her back.

"Enough." Sam snapped quietly, grabbing Jake's shoulder to pull him away from leech. He turned to Carlisle, "Just give us Mrs. Fuller's update so we can be on our way, please." he requested with forced politeness, feeling awkward not calling her Abby.

"Of course." Carlisle answered, looking through his papers before answering, "Apart from a sprained hip, she's just fine. I would like to keep her overnight, just to make sure. Is there anyone who could pick her up tomorrow?"

Sam nodded once, "I could pick her up, maybe bring someone else who could help her with a few things, too. Any specific time?"

"Around noon would be preferable. Would that work with your schedule?" Carlisle checked.

Sam nodded again. "If that's everything, we'll leave now." on cue, Jake nudged Lilly with his hand on the small of her back, urging her in the direction of the nearest elevator.

"Jake, wait!" Bella called, making Jake stop and glance over his shoulder at her. "I'm sure Sam and Paul can take her home. Don't you want to hang out?" she asked hopefully.

Jake glanced down at Lilly, who was looking around him, looking a mix of curious and nervous. Without saying anything, he shook his head and kept walking, keeping one hand on Lilly's back.

Once the group was outside, Sam moved to walk beside Lilly, looking down at her as he spoke. "Lilly, I think it's safe to say you know what those two guys were, didn't you?" it wasn't really a question, but Lilly looked away awkwardly as she chewed her lip, her fingers scratching at the scar on her left hand. After a couple moments, she nodded her head in answer, not looking up at anyone.

"Would you be willing to explain how you know if we offer to explain how _we_ know about them?" Sam asked persuadably.

Lilly looked up and looked between the three nervously. Guessing her fears, Jake spoke up.

"We aren't going to hurt you, Lilly. We know what those guys are, we just want to know how you know about them. You're perfectly safe, I promise."

Lilly chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully, confused as to why Jacob Black promising something made her feel so much better, just like when he told her he'd protect her. After a few moments, she nodded again.

"Okay." Sam nodded, leading them to his truck. When given the choice between the cab of the truck or the bed, Lilly chose the bed. So, Paul and Sam took the front and Jake helped Lilly up into the back, sitting down next to her with their backs against the back window of the cab.

They remained in comfortable silence during the ride from the hospital to La Push, the cold wind whipping Lilly's hair into her face. She wasn't sure how long they were driving, but they eventually pulled the truck into Lilly's driveway, and she saw Jared Cameron was standing patiently by the front door. Seeing her confused face, Jake spoke as he stood and hopped out of the truck.

"Sam called him while we were driving." Jake explained, offering his hand to help her down. Lilly took it hesitantly. She knew she could jump down on her own easily, but she didn't want to come off as rude by not accepting Jake's offered hand.

The four walked up to the front door, Lilly stepping into the lead to open the door, which they'd left unlocked in their rush to leave. Jared smiled at her with a nod.

"Hey, long time no see." he greeted her with a smirk, making Lilly smile back. She'd eaten lunch at school with Kim and Jared again that day.

Opening the door, she stepped into the living room, and was greeted by the frantic yipping of Dash from her bedroom. She turned to the guys behind her, gesturing with her hand toward the sofa, and then holding up a finger in a 'wait a second' sign. Turning, she hurried down the hall to her bedroom, hearing Dash scratching furiously at her door.

She opened her door, expecting Dash to jump on her, but a flash of white and brown passing her toward the living room told her otherwise. Hurrying after him, she rounded the corner to see Jake still standing by the door looking down at Dash in amusement as the little dog barked at him, the other three guys sitting around the living room watching with smirks.

Lilly let out a shrill whistle and Dash snapped his head around to stare at her, ears perked and body stiff. She patted her hands to her chest in the sign Dash knew better than any other, and the little dog scurried back to her, leaping into her arms.

"Whoa." Jared muttered with wide eyes. "Did you train him to do that?"

Lilly's lip twitched in a small, shy smile as she nodded, turning to carry Dash to the back door. She put him down and opened the door, allowing him to scurry out and do his business. She waited by the open door as the little dog quickly did one and two before he hurried back into the house, Lilly closing the door behind him.

She quickly went into the kitchen to grab the spiral notebook that was always kept in there for grocery lists, then she returned to the living room to sit on the couch between Paul and Jake, while Sam and Jared stood in front of them.

"Alright, I'm not going to dance around it. Those two guys, they're vampires." Sam stated, to which Lilly flinched and nodded slowly, even though it wasn't a question. "If it's okay, could you tell us how you knew that, and in exchange we'll tell you how we know that."

Lilly looked among all the guys in her living room, seeing all of them watching her with curious, anxious expressions. Turning back to Sam, she nodded.

Sam nodded once in return, gesturing to her with one hand. Lilly looked down at the notebook on her lap, biting her lips together for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she stood up and walked towards the kitchen, feeling their eyes burning into her back. Standing near the back wall behind the couch, she pulled the pencil out of the metal spiral on the notebook. Thinking back on the day that changed her life forever, she wrote the events down as they passed before her mind's eye…

 _It was a dark, cool night in mid-March. Lilly had woken up for some reason and couldn't get back to sleep. She decided to get a drink. So she went downstairs to the kitchen to get a glass of water. When she was going back to her room, she was passing her parents' room when she heard something from behind the door. Thinking back on it, she couldn't remember what the sound was, only that it piqued her curiosity._

 _She opened the door and stepped just in the doorway, and froze._

 _Her parents were sprawled across the bed, moonlight shining through the window…highlighting the deep, crimson staining the bed sheets. But what drew Lilly's attention away from that, was the man standing over her parents._

 _In the blink of an eye, the man moved from his position by the bed, to mere inches from Lilly's face. His pale skin, dark red eyes, and blood-smeared lips pulled back to reveal fangs would forever be burned into her memory._

 _The shock of him appearing in her face caused her to flinch, the glass slipping from her hand. It crashed to the floor, shattering and splashing water over the wall outlet just beside the door. The water caused a small spark, which burst into flame._

 _The man hissed as the fire roared to life, disappearing as the flames engulfed the room, licking at Lilly's arm._

Lilly blinked out of the memory, looking down at the two small droplets that had managed to escape her eyes, leaving dark spots over the last couple words she'd written. Reading the story over to make sure it made sense, she carried the notebook back over to the living room, handing it to Sam before she sat back down on the couch.

She stared down at her lap as Jared moved to read over Sam's shoulder and Paul stood up to read with them. Jake looked between Lilly and Sam. His anxious curiosity to know what she wrote was at war with the fact that Lilly was upset and crying. He wanted to stay beside her to comfort her. Looking at the guys' faces, he could see a mixture of shock, anger, anxiety, and pain. Glancing at Lilly, Jake saw a couple tears slowly sliding down her cheeks. Hesitantly, he lifted his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his side. Her body stiffened for a moment before she relaxed, a sigh escaping her as she leaned her head on his chest.

Jared swallowed thickly as he reread what Lilly wrote, still unable to believe it. Judging by what she wrote, if she'd been asleep instead of awake that night, the leech could've drained her, too. And if she hadn't had a glass of water, she would've had no way of chasing the leech off anyway, because the leech obviously fled because of the fire. Looking up, he noticed Jake was holding Lilly close to him, trying to comfort her as best he could. Sensing Jared's stare, Jake lifted his head and met his eyes, silently asking what the paper said.

Jared cleared his throat quietly, grabbing the notebook from Sam and walking toward the couch. He handed the notebook to Jake's free hand before sitting on Lilly's other side, resting his hand on her back. She forced her eyes up and tried to give him a smile, but it just looked pitiful.

No one really saw the distracted, dazed look on Sam's face as he thought over something.

Lilly felt Jake's body stiffen only a couple seconds after Jared handed him the notebook. A loud growl rumbled in his chest, making Lilly flinch as it echoed in her ear.

The sound pulled Sam out of his daydreaming. "Jake." his voice was low in warning from where he stood in front of the small coffee table, on the opposite side from the couch. Jake took a deep breath before he handed the notebook back to Sam, who took it and closed the cover, setting it on the end of the coffee table.

Sam took a deep breath before looking down at Lilly. "Um, Lilly, can you tell me what the date was? The date of your parents' death?" he asked hesitantly, making the other guys look at him in confusion, wondering what that had to do with telling her about the legends.

Lilly barely kept herself from flinching at the question before she pulled away from Jake, shakily grabbed the notebook from the coffee table, and pulled the pencil from the spiral.

 _'March 17, 2004'_ she wrote.

Sam sighed and closed his eyes, unable to hide the pain that suddenly appeared. Jared and Paul shared a confused, worried look. The only time they'd ever seen Sam show that much obvious pain on the outside was when he scarred Emily. He usually hid his emotions well.

After a moment of trying to find his voice again, Sam finally cleared his throat and whispered in a hoarse voice, "Jared." he nodded to the side and moved away from the group with his Beta. He whispered something to Jared that Lilly couldn't hear, but she saw the shock on not only Jared's face, but Paul's and Jake's, too. Jared rested his hand on Sam's shoulder and said something back, and after a few moments, they returned to the group, Jared returning to his seat on the couch next to Lilly, and Sam sitting on the coffee table in front of her.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Lilly. Thank you for telling us. Would you still like to know how we know about vampires?" he spoke gently, and Lilly nodded in answer.

"Do you remember our tribe's legends?" Lilly nodded with a small smile. When she was little and her parents sent her to spend the night with her Gran on occasion, Abby would sit with her on the bed in the guest room and tell her the legends as bedtime stories. She loved it.

Sam continued, "Well, I'm assuming you know what the Cold Ones are?" he checked, watching Lilly's smile drop. Of course she knew the Cold Ones in the legends were vampires, the description matched too perfectly to the one Lilly encountered. Lilly nodded in answer. "So, since the Cold Ones from the legends really exist, would you believe me if I said that all the other legends are real, too?"

Lilly's brow furrowed as she thought over his words, feeling the eyes of everyone in the room burning into her as they stared. Thinking it over, she finally settled for a shrug and a slight nod. Sam took that as his cue to continue.

"Do you remember all the legends about our tribe's protectors? How the wolf shared his body with Taha Aki so he could shape-shift? How our protectors turned into wolves whenever Cold Ones were near? How Ephraim Black, the last Alpha and Chief, made a Treaty with the Cullens? Stuff like that?"

Thinking about it for a second Lilly nodded, she knew most of the legends like the back of her hand.

Sam sighed and glanced over at Paul, who was sitting in the chair. When he looked back at Lilly, he swept his hand around to gesture to the guys, "Well, you're looking at a few of this generation's protectors."

Lilly looked among them in confusion before her eyes snapped wide and her mouth fell open. Shakily, she grabbed her pencil and wrote in the notebook.

 _'You're wolves?'_

She showed it to Sam and he nodded, carefully watching her expression.

The image of Her Wolf popped into her head, protecting her from her nightmares.

"We're not going to hurt you, Lilly. You're safe." Jared assured her.

Lilly shook her head quickly, writing frantically in the notebook.

 _'I'm not scared of you. I was just surprised.'_

Jared eyed her doubtfully after reading what she wrote, but after a moment Jake spoke up.

"She's telling the truth."

Lilly turned and looked up at him, and found him staring down into her eyes. She bit her lip and turned back to Sam. She wrote out a quick message and showed him.

 _'What does my parents' death have to do with you guys being wolves?'_

Sam sighed again, running his hand through his hair before he could look at her and talk. "Well, we all phased, or changed, at different times, as you may have noticed. I phased first, and then Jared and Paul phased last year, and then Embry, Jake, and Quil phased over the past couple of months, and finally Leah and Seth phased a couple weeks ago." Lilly nodded slowly as she absorbed this information. "Well, I don't suppose you remember when I disappeared for about a month a couple years back?"

Lilly thought about it for a moment. She remembered everyone talking about how Sam Uley disappeared for a month and then came back completely different. Next thing everyone knew, he broke up with Leah Clearwater and was a part of the Elders Council for some reason. But she couldn't remember when, exactly, it all happened. Finally, she settled for a shrug to answer his question.

"Okay, well that was when I phased for the first time. See, we start showing signs of phasing weeks before it actually happens. We get a larger appetite, we start growing, our temperature goes up, and most importantly, we get a shorter temper than before. And once we phase, the only way for us to phase back to humans is by calming down, and thinking human thoughts, and stuff like that. Well, when I phased for the first time, I didn't have anyone there to help me through it, I thought I was going crazy. I didn't understand what was going on." Lilly nodded in understanding, feeling sympathetic for Sam, "It took me a few weeks before I was able to phase back while I was asleep. Then, I went home and I never mentioned where I'd been to anyone, cause I truly thought I'd gone crazy. Then, well, long story short Old Quil shook my hand, put the pieces together, next thing I knew, I'm on the council."

Lilly nodded again, bits of it coming back to her. A few kids had approached her during that time asking her if she knew why Sam was on the council, since her Gran was also an Elder. Obviously, she'd had no answer for them.

Sam sighed yet again, and Lilly suspected whatever he had to tell her wasn't good. She sat patiently, and waited for him to tell her when he was ready.

"Vampires are the main reason we phase." Lilly nodded, already knowing that from the legends. "The appearance of the Cullens in Forks is what started the process of me phasing, but I didn't actually phase for a few weeks after they arrived. Well, the day I phased I was walking home from Leah's house. And I walked past your parents' house. It was burnt and practically falling apart, and there was yellow police tape surrounding the property. I caught a whiff of something sickeningly sweet that burned my nose, and, I didn't know why at the time, but it pissed me off. I know now that it was the smell of a vampire. And that scent is what set me off. I managed to make it into the woods before I burst into a wolf." Lilly was staring at him in awe, her brain dancing around whatever obvious point he was trying to make. Seeing that she wasn't connecting the dots, Sam leaned forward so his elbows rested on his knees, his face only a foot from her own.

"Lilly. I phased the day after your parents were killed. The scent of the vampire that killed your parents is what ultimately pushed me over the edge."

Lilly stayed frozen in place, her mouth closed as her brain registered his words. The vampire that took her parents from her was the same vampire that basically ruined Sam's life. Lilly found it hard to swallow as anger coursed through her veins.

A hand rested on her wrist, making her look up at Jake.

"Sam had no control over it." he whispered to her, even though the others could probably hear him, "It wasn't his fault. The leech was long gone before Sam even had any idea what was going on."

"I wish I could've phased a day or two earlier, Lilly." Sam admitted quietly, making her look back at him, "If I could go back and save your parents, I would in a heartbeat. I wish I could. I'm sorry I couldn't save them."

Realizing that they mistook her anger, Lilly shook her head and grabbed her notebook again.

 _'That's not why I'm mad.'_ she wrote, _'I'm mad because that monster not only killed my parents, he ruined your life.'_

Sam allowed a small, sad smile to appear on his face as his eyes skimmed the small handwriting. No one had ever voiced any sympathy for his situation before, granted he never asked for anyone's pity. But really, the only good things, to him, that came with phasing were getting Emily, and his pack brothers. Everything else; becoming a monster, giving up his scholarship after graduation, having to hurt Leah, finding out his father may have cheated on his mom and fathered Embry, and worst of all scarring Emily; everything else that came with phasing sucked.

Finally finding his voice again, Sam spoke, "It's really not that bad. I got Emily out of it, so that makes everything worth it."

Lilly smiled, slightly surprised that the man everyone described as being a druggy and cult leader could be so sweet towards his fiancé.

"Do you have any questions, Lilly?" Jared asked gently from his seat beside her.

She thought about it before grabbing her notebook. _'Have you guys had to fight any vampires yet?'_

"Yeah, we have. Most of us have only managed to kill one or two so far, though." Jake answered, having read it over her shoulder.

She nodded, hesitating a bit. Her hand shook slightly as she wrote out, _'What are they like?'_

Jake sucked in a breath, looking nervously over at Jared, who looked back with a similar expression.

Sam, seeing their reactions, held his hand out in a silent request for her to hand him the notebook. She did so, chewing her lip nervously. Sam read over the question before looking blankly at the paper to think of a response.

"Well,…they're obviously pale white, their skin's hard as rock and cold as ice, their eyes are usually red, but as you found out today that's not always the case. You met a couple of the Cullens, who are a coven who live at the edge of Forks. The last pack made a Treaty with them, which you may remember from the legends. They call themselves vegetarians because they don't drink human blood, they drink animal blood, which causes their eyes to be golden colored instead of red."

Lilly nodded, her hands shaking in her lap.

"Aside from that, they're also very strong and fast."

Lilly gestured to have the notebook back and Sam obliged, watching as she wrote another question.

 _'How do you kill them?'_

"Just like it's said in the legends." Jared answered, "The only way to kill them is to rip them up and light them on fire." he said it as gently as possible, but Lilly still flinched at the graphic description. Jake growled lowly at his Beta, who looked a bit guilty.

 _'Have any of you been hurt by one?'_

Jake jumped to answer, "None of us have been hurt seriously. We've been hit and thrown back, but not enough to do any real damage. And even if we did get hurt we have super fast healing. Injuries that could take weeks to heal for a normal person heal in about an hour for us, if not less."

Lilly looked up at him, amazed at that, her eyes wide and mouth agape.

Paul suddenly scoffed. "Pretty sure we've done more damage to each other than any leeches have done to any of us."

Jacob chuckled and Jared smirked while Sam rolled his eyes. When Jared looked down and noticed Lilly's curious smile, he explained, "We wolves have a tendency to have shorter tempers than normal, so we sometimes get on each other's nerves and the occasional fight breaks out. The injuries aren't too awful most of the time, and they're usually completely healed within an hour or two."

Lilly smiled in amusement, her shoulders shaking a bit with suppressed laughter. She put her pencil back to her paper to write her next question.

 _'Do you guys have any other cool abilities?'_

"You ever noticed how much we eat?" Jared asked in response. Lilly thought about it and did indeed remember earlier in the day Jared had eaten enough to feed two or three people. She nodded. "Well, we've got really high metabolisms, so we eat _a lot_."

"We also have heightened senses, like regular wolves but way stronger. Like sense of smell, hearing, and eyesight." Jacob added.

"And we're fast. We're faster and stronger than leeches." Paul bragged.

"We also share thoughts. It's easier to catch our enemies when we can communicate silently through each other's thoughts." Sam put in. "Unfortunately, that also means a distinct lack of privacy."

"And if you've noticed we're a bit warmer than most people, it's cause shape shifters run at a toasty 108." Jared added, "Wanna see?" he offered, lifting his arm. Lilly slowly reached out and touched two fingers to Jared's forearm, shocked at how hot his skin was.

She didn't hear Jake growling behind her.

"That's the basics for our supernatural abilities and things." Sam shrugged. "Do you have any other questions?"

Lilly thought about it for a while before she wrote out, _'Does anyone else know about the legends being true?'_

Jared nodded, reading the writing from over her shoulder, "Yeah. All the Elders, Kim, and Emily know about us."

Lilly's mouth fell open, her eyes shooting back and forth among the guys. Her hands came up and frantically started gesturing, trying to figure out how to ask what she wanted. But seeing their blank expressions she quickly scribbled out one word on her notebook, looking up at Jared anxiously.

 _'GRAN?!'_

Jared lifted his eyes to look at her, one eyebrow lifted. "Um, you mean your grandmother?" she nodded quickly, nearly giving herself whiplash, "Well, yeah that includes her, she _is_ an Elder. So, yeah she knows all the legends are true."

Lilly's head snapped back down to her notebook, scribbling quickly. _'She knows vampires exist?'_

Jake was the one who answered, "Yeah, she knows they're real."

 _'And she knows a Cullen works at the Forks Hospital?'_

"Yes." Jared answered, mildly impatient. "Is it that surprising?"

Lilly bit her lip thoughtfully. So that must've been why her Gran was so against going to the Forks Hospital. She didn't want to be at the mercy of a vampire.

 _'Is she safe in Forks with the vampires?'_ she wrote out worriedly, turning the notebook instead to show Sam.

Sam gave her a reassuring look. "She's fine, Lilly. The Cullens don't drink from humans, and Dr. Cullen appears to have complete control of his thirst."

Paul's expression from behind Sam didn't really reassure her, but she decided to trust Sam anyway. Now she just had to worry about how her Gran would react when she realized Lilly knew about vampires all this time.

"Is there anything else you want to know?" Sam asked gently, seeing that she had a lot on her mind.

She thought for a moment before shaking her head with a small grimace.

"Well, if you think of any don't hesitate to ask, okay?" Lilly nodded, smiling gratefully at Sam.

After a while, Lilly reheated the dinner her Gran had made and Sam offered to have someone stay the night with her if that would make her feel better. She hesitantly agreed, and Jake volunteered, which surprised her. She thought he hated her.

So, she fixed up the pull out bed on the couch in the living room, and then retired to her own room, falling into a fitful sleep.

 **XXX**

 **Well, there's chapter 7. Your guys' reviews seriously made my day! I hope everyone liked this chapter. Let me know what you all thought.**


	8. Chapter 8

_A loud scream made Lilly flinch, her head snapping in all directions to try and see where it came from. When her eyes caught movement she froze._

 _He was standing several feet away from her, holding a familiar, tan-skinned, dark-haired woman by the neck. From where she was standing, Lilly could see the dark holes in her neck where his fangs and sunk into it, blood dripping down her neck._

 _Lilly screamed when he dropped the woman, her mother's body falling lifelessly to the ground. She blinked and suddenly, he was right in front of her, looking hungrily down at her with deep, bright red eyes._

 _His lips parted into a smirk to reveal sharp, white fangs._

 _A loud growl erupted from the trees behind her, causing the red eyes to leave her and focus over her shoulder. His smirk dropped into a snarl as he backed away._

 _Lilly blinked again in time to see him speeding away._

 _Something enormous shot past her from behind, blowing her black hair forward around her face. The large, russet blur skidded to a stop just before it hit the trees. The wolf turned to look over his shoulder at Lilly, fixing her with a fierce, protective stare from a pair of deep, brown eyes._

 _Her Wolf threw his head back and let a loud howl rip through the sky. More howls echoed in the distance._

Lilly blinked and suddenly, she wasn't in the clearing anymore. Looking around, she found herself in her bedroom. She sucked in a deep breath when a cool tear slipped from her eye and down her temple into her hair. Lilly raised her hand and wiped the tear away just as there was a knock at her bedroom door.

She shot upright into a seated position, clutching her blanket to her chest. That didn't sound like her Gran's knock.

"Lilly?" a deep voice spoke through the door before it cracked open and Jacob Black poked his head in.

That's when everything came rushing back. Everything from the day before; her Gran getting hurt, going to Forks General Hospital, seeing the two vampires, learning about the wolves…

She sucked in a deep breath and offered Jacob a shaky smile.

He smiled hesitantly back before entering the bedroom, taking a slow seat on the edge of her bed.

"You okay?" he asked quietly, his eyes scanning her face as if he could see right into her very soul.

She nodded quickly, wanting to just drop the subject. She looked over at her alarm clock and saw it was only one in the morning. If she dropped it now she could maybe fall back asleep and get a few more hours in.

"You had a nightmare, didn't you?" she looked back at him, knowing it wasn't really a question. She gave him a questioning stare, hoping he could understand what she was asking. He smiled gently, lifting his hand to tap his own ear. "Super hearing, remember? I could hear your heartbeat and breathing pick up, and then you woke up. It's not that hard to put two and two together."

She nodded, looking down at her lap.

"Do you, uh… Do you want to talk about it?" he asked awkwardly, his hand coming up to scratch at the back of his head.

She grimaced, shaking her head.

"You don't have to, I just figured…it seems like you have them often." Jacob spoke softly, remembering when Jared had mentioned his suspicions at the last meeting.

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out with a _whoosh_. Leaning over to her bedside table, she flipped on her small lamp and grabbed the notebook and pencil, which was sitting there.

She scribbled out a quick answer, _'It's basically about my parents' death.'_

She handed it to Jacob and he stared down at it silently. He nodded slowly in understanding, knowing she didn't go into detail because she didn't want to talk about it, so he wouldn't ask.

After several moments of silence, Jacob finally asked something that's been bothering him, and probably everyone else, for a while now. "Lilly, if you don't mind my asking,…why don't you talk anymore?" he looked up and stared her directly in the eyes.

She sucked in a quick breath, shocked he'd ask. People didn't normally ask her about it, aside from some teachers and students who enjoyed tormenting her. Most people probably considered it a taboo of sorts, something no one discussed.

She sighed, thinking about the best way to describe how it happened. She took the notebook back from him and slowly wrote out the best answer she could think of.

 _'After my parents died I went into a mild depression for a couple weeks. I didn't talk much during that time. My group of friends were understanding at first but after a while they started getting mad because they thought I was shutting them out. They kept saying I needed to talk about it if I wanted to try and get on with my life. But what was I supposed to say? I knew I couldn't tell people a Cold One killed my parents. Anyway, when I refused to talk they decided they'd had enough and stopped hanging out with me._

 _So, I decided if almost all of the people who claimed to care about me were going to abandon me when I was grieving my parents' death then I wouldn't talk again until I found something or someone to give me a reason to talk.'_

Looking it over, Lilly decided it was as good as it was going to get and handed it to Jacob. She watched his expressions as his eyes flitted over the writing.

Jacob's nostrils flared in anger when he read that her friends abandoned her. He knew from experience that he would've been much worse off when his own mother died if it hadn't been for Embry and Quil, so he couldn't imagine Lilly going through it alone.

When he finished reading he thought it all over, swirling her words around in his head.

"But…what about Abby? Wouldn't she give you a reason to talk?" Jacob asked quietly.

Lilly ducked her head, her watery eyes looking up through her lashes at him, her whole posture and expression screaming guilt and shame.

Jacob sighed. "Okay, I guess I shouldn't be judging you. I don't know what I would've done if I was alone when my mom died. You're probably a hell-of-a-lot stronger than I am on that front."

Lilly smiled slightly at him.

He smiled a bit back before looking over at her alarm clock, seeing 1:32 flashing in red numbers under the lamplight.

"We should probably try and get a few more hours of sleep. I can give you a ride to school in the morning if you want?" he offered, tilting his head a bit.

Lilly nodded with a smile.

"Great. Good night, then." he nodded to her before standing up. It was at that moment Lilly realized he was only wearing basketball shorts. She blushed and looked down, trying not to stare at how the soft light from the lamp highlighted the toned ridges of his abs.

Luckily, he'd turned and headed for the door, not noticing her reaction. Once he was gone and the door closed behind him, Lilly threw herself back into her pillow, trying to get those thoughts out of her head. After all, only earlier that day she'd been convinced Jacob Black hated her.

Sighing, Lilly reached over to turn off her lamp before turning onto her side, staring thoughtfully at the far wall of her bedroom.

Thinking back on the dream she just had, she couldn't help but wonder if Her Wolf was a Protector. Obviously he must be, since he was a huge wolf who fought Cold Ones, just like in the legends. But if there were actual Protectors around now, being Sam and the other guys,…was it possible that Her Wolf was real? Like Jared and Kim had been hinting at the other day during lunch. Could one of the guys be Her Wolf?

With these thoughts swirling around in her mind, Lilly finally managed to drift off into sleep.

XXX

In the morning, Jacob ran home to get his Rabbit and came back to give Lilly a lift to school. He seemed a bit awkward, like he wasn't sure how to act around her. At least they were in the same boat.

The guys and Kim greeted her enthusiastically in the school parking lot, accepting her into their tight knit group immediately. She wasn't sure how Kim fit into everything, but she figured she could ask her some other time. After all, Emily must know at least some of the truth if her and Sam were engaged.

When math class finally rolled around Mr. Mathews barely even lectured before setting them free to work in groups during the period. To Lilly's, and the class's, surprise; Quil and Embry immediately pulled a couple desks up to hers so they could work together.

"Wait, so, how'd you do that?" Quil asked after they finished question 6, looking over at Embry's notebook in confusion while Embry rolled his eyes. Lilly giggle silently, shaking her head at them.

A few minutes later Quil grimaced. "I'll be right back. I need to piss _really_ bad."

"Good to know." Embry grimaced, shaking his head as his best friend headed toward the teacher's desk to ask for permission to leave.

A few minutes later, Lilly looked over at Embry and decided he'd be the best candidate to ask about Her Wolf. She'd thought about asking Jared, but he'd already seen her sketch. He may get suspicious if she started asking about what the pack looked like, if he didn't already. It would explain his awkward reaction when he saw her sketch.

Pulling out her phone, Lilly subtly typed out the question, _'What do all the pack members look like?'_

She slid the phone onto Embry's desk. His eyes flickered from his notebook to the phone. His brow furrowed before he lifted his eyes to look at her. She stared back curiously, her eyebrows lifting slightly.

He breathed in, peaking around the room before ripping a spare sheet of paper out of his notebook and writing something out on the sheet before passing it back to her.

She took it and read it over.

 _Sam - black_

 _Jared - brown, dark gray around his eyes_

 _Paul - silver_

 _Me - gray with black spots_

 _Jake - russet brown_

 _Quil - chocolate brown_

 _Seth - sandy brown_

 _Leah - smallest, gray_

Her eyes lingered on Jacob's name and description. It matched her idea of Her Wolf the closest, but there were other brown wolves in the pack, maybe Embry had a different opinion of certain colors than she did.

Realizing he was watching her she lifted her eyes and offered him a small smirk, grabbing her phone and typing out a quick message and showing him.

 _'You sound like the coolest looking.'_

He smirked, throwing her a wink before going back to his homework. She folded the paper up into a small square before putting it in one of her folders, so no one would find it but she could get it back out later.

XXX

When school ended Lilly nervously made her way home, knowing her Gran would be there, but not knowing if anyone had told her about Lilly knowing anything about vampires.

When she arrived at the familiar house she hesitantly approached the front door and turned the knob.

When the door cracked open it was to find her Gran sitting tenderly on the sofa with Sue Clearwater sitting next to her, Billy Black in his wheelchair in front of her, and Sam standing next to him. They all turned and looked at her as she entered the house.

She swallowed, lowering her eyes as Dash scurried over to her, standing on his hind legs and raising his paws to her as if begging to be picked up. Instead, she scratched his head and nudged him back with her legs so she could close the door behind her.

"Oh, Lilly!" she flinched at her Gran's tearful voice. She nervously peaked up through her lashes to see Sue gently helping Abby to her feet. The older woman shuffled as quickly as she could toward Lilly before wrapping her arms tightly around her small, shaking frame. "Oh, sweetie! If only I'd known! I'm so sorry you were anywhere near one of those monsters!" she cried into Lilly's hair.

Lilly sniffled, burying her face in her grandma's shoulder as the tears spilled from her eyes, her arms coming up to wrap gently around her Gran's back. She wanted nothing more than to hug her as tightly as possible, but she wasn't sure how tender her grandma still was.

After several moments, Abby pulled away from her granddaughter, bringing her hands to Lilly's face and brushing her hair back to look her in the eyes.

"Oh, Lilly. I wish I'd been there to keep you safe. I'm sorry, honey."

Lilly shook her head quickly, pulling Abby back into a hug to stop her from continuing. She wanted nothing more in that moment to just hug her grandmother, to let the world outside of her comforting arms just fade away.


	9. Chapter 9

"Hurry up, Lilly! Come on!" Quil shouted excitedly when First Beach came into view. He grabbed her hand and practically dragged her toward the rocky beach, both of them laughing as the cool wind stung Lilly's cheeks. The only part of her that was warm was the hand that Quil was holding a bit too tight.

The pack was having a day at the beach since it was relatively warm for a day in La Push, and over half the pack was already there.

Emily and Kim were sitting on a large blanket with a few baskets, probably full of food. In the couple days she'd been hanging out with the pack, Lilly had noticed that they ate enough to feed a small village. Sam, Jared, and Paul were throwing a football back and forth. Finally, Seth Clearwater was swimming in the water with Embry. According to Embry, Seth and Leah were pretty good with their control now and would be going back to school the next day, Monday.

"I got her!" Quil shouted. Several heads turned in their direction as their sneakers started crunching on the pebbles of the shore. The pack had invited her to join them Friday and Quil had said he'd pick her up at her place.

"Hi Lilly!" Emily and Kim called from their spots, waving at her. She waved back, releasing Quil's hand and heading toward the girls. She was wearing a big; comfy sweater with black, white, and red tribal designs; jean shorts that went a few inches below her butt; and sneakers. She was carrying a plain beach bag that carried a towel, hairbrush, ponytail, her phone, and a small notepad.

She smiled at the girls as she set her bag on the blanket, sitting down next to them.

"Glad you could make it, Lilly." Emily smiled kindly. She saw Emily for a little bit on Friday after school, but other than that she didn't know her that well.

She smiled back before glancing around the beach, her eyes scanning everyone who was here. As far as she could remember of the pack, Jacob and Leah were the only ones missing.

Kim noticed her looking and spoke, "Jake and Leah aren't coming. We invited them, obviously, but they didn't want to come."

Lilly looked at her, confused. Why wouldn't they want to come?

"Leah's not very…fond of the pack, or anything to do with it." Emily explained quietly, her eyes glued to the blanket beneath them.

Lilly nodded in understanding before fishing her phone out of her bag and typing out, _'And Jacob?'_

The two girls read it and Kim spoke hesitantly, "I'm not completely sure why Jake's not coming. I haven't heard anything."

"He's not coming 'cause he's pissed about the leech lover and needed to run off some pent up aggression." Paul answered as he approached, reaching into one of the baskets to pull out a cookie.

"What'd she do now?" Kim asked tiredly while Lilly looked on in confusion, not sure who they were talking about.

Jared approached then with Sam, who was holding the football. "She's been calling his house a bunch just like when he first phased. And apparently she's been asking Billy lots of…questions that don't concern her."

Kim grimaced in disdain while Emily sighed, getting a can of soda out of a basket and handing it to Sam as he sat down next to her.

Lilly quickly typed up a message and showed it to Sam, who was closest to her now. _'Who are you guys talking about?'_

Sam sighed patiently before taking a swig from his soda, one arm going around Emily's waist.

"Do you remember when we were at the hospital and we ran into a couple Cullens?" he asked, to which she nodded worriedly. "You remember that girl who was with them, with the brown hair?" again she nodded. "That was Bella Swan. It's a long, complicated story, but basically she started dating one of the Cullens last year, he dumped her and left her in the woods a few months back, she went into a depression, Jake started helping her get better and developed a very strong crush on her, and then as soon as the Cullens returned Bella went running back to Cullen like nothing happened." he finished with a weary sigh. He'd felt pity for the Swan girl when he'd found her curled up and freezing in the woods, and didn't mind her too much when she hung out with the pack, but when she dropped all of them to go running back to the Cullens he found that he hated her nearly as much as he hated the vampires.

Lilly felt anger flash through her, and she wasn't sure why. Her and Jacob were still awkward around each other, she wouldn't even know if they were technically friends. However, supernatural creatures aside, why would someone go running to a guy who dumped them and then _left them in the woods_?! Not to mention, why go back to a guy who would do that and leave behind someone like Jacob, who's strong, kind, and loyal enough to help her through a depression?

"Alright there, Lilly? You look a bit angry." Lilly came back to reality to see Paul smirking at her.

"And that's coming from Paul. He knows anger better than anyone." Jared joked from where he'd taken a seat with Kim, who was now in his lap.

Lilly blushed and looked at her lap.

"Oh, leave her alone!" Kim admonished, smacking Jared's chest as they both laughed. Jared pulled Kim closer with his arm around her stomach, pressing a kiss to her shoulder.

"Hey! Who wants to play in the water?!" Embry called from where he was waist deep in the ocean with Quil and Seth.

Paul jumped up and Jared followed more slowly.

Emily shook her head. "That water's too cold for us mortals, thank you very much." she pointed out, snuggling deeper into Sam's chest, who was more than happy to pull her in tighter.

Lilly bit her lip, watching the guys play in the water for a few minutes. They were laughing and goofing off. Quil and Seth were tossing the football back and forth, and Jared and Embry were tag teaming Paul. Their laughter and smiles were tempting her to the no-doubt freezing cold water.

Finally, she made up her mind. She took off her shoes, pulled her sweater over her head, and then unbuttoned her shorts and slid them down her legs, leaving her in a modest, black tankini. She stood up and waved at Sam, Emily, and Kim to let them know she was leaving them and hurried down the beach toward the water.

She paused at the shoreline and let her toes touch the water. The coldness tingled a bit but it was also refreshing.

"Lilly! You coming in?" Embry called before Paul tackled him into the water. Lilly laughed at them before taking a few steps into the cold water, the soggy sand under the water squishing between her toes.

She didn't stop walking until she was up to her knees, then she watched the guys, deciding what she wanted to do. She obviously couldn't roughhouse with them, they'd probably accidentally crush her.

"Hey Lilly! Catch!" Quil's voice cut through the air and she looked up just in time to see him throw the football in her direction.

She quickly lifted her hands in time for the football to smack into her stomach, "Oomph."

Everyone paused for a few moments until she laughed and threw the ball to Seth, who caught it easily with one hand.

"Nice catch, Lil." Embry grinned as he jogged through the water toward her.

She smiled back, taking a few more steps into the water. Her body was shivering from the cold and her feet were going numb, but she simply dove under the water.

The shock of the cold all around her nearly stole the breath from her lungs, but she stayed under for several moments before she swam to the surface and gasped in a lungful of air.

Lilly didn't leave the water for a good portion of the afternoon, either spending the time swimming around, splashing the guys, or playing catch.

Before long the guys started to notice that her lips were turning blue, the scar on her left hand was turning a bit purple, and they could hear her teeth chattering.

Embry ducked under the water behind Lilly when she wasn't watching, and popped back up with her on his shoulders, causing her to squeal in shock.

Embry laughed when she smacked the top of his head, loosely holding her ankles to keep her from falling off. "Jeeze, Lil! You're freezing!" he exclaimed, wrapping his hands around her toes to warm them up because they felt like ice cubes.

"Maybe you should get out of the water, Lilly. We don't need your fingers and toes falling off." Quil joked, approaching them with the football in his hands.

Lilly pouted and shook her head quickly, not ready to leave the water yet.

"Your lips are turning blue! Aren't you at all cold?" Seth asked, swimming up to them before standing up in the shallower water, which reached their waists.

She shook her head in denial, her brows furrowed and arms crossed stubbornly.

"Holy crap, Lil! You're a regular little Water Lilly, aren't you?" Quil shook his head in amusement.

"Ha! I'm so calling you that now." Embry grinned, tilting his head back to look up at her. She mock-glared down at him before jabbing a finger into his forehead.

"Come on, Lil. The girls are thinking about going back to Emily's in a little while, I'm sure Emily could make you some hot chocolate." Jared announced temptingly.

Lilly's mouth watered a bit at the thought of hot chocolate, and she subconsciously licked her lips, making the guys chuckle at her. Finally, she sighed and nodded in consent.

Embry grinned in triumph before turning and heading toward shore with her still seated on his shoulders, carrying her all the way up the beach to the blanket.

Sam, Emily, Kim, and Paul watched in amusement from their seats on the blanket as Embry approached and carefully lifted Lilly off his shoulders with his hands on her waist.

When her feet touched the ground she stumbled a bit, the pinpricks of pain from her feet gaining feeling back taking her by surprise. Embry held her steady until she pushed his hands off her and took a seat on the blanket next to her bag.

Reaching into the bag, she pulled out her beach towel, which was designed with a sunset and an ocean, showing a pod of bottlenose dolphins swimming under the water. She shook it out before wrapping it tightly around her shoulders, finally noticing just how much she was shivering.

Embry shook his head at her, a small, amused smile on his face. He was about to offer to sit with her to warm her up when he looked up and noticed Jake heading down the beach in his usual cutoffs.

What the pack didn't know was that Jake had been watching them for the past half an hour, watching his imprint play and swim with his pack brothers. He was full of conflicting feelings. The wolf was both jealous watching her interact with other males, and pleased that his pack brothers were taking such good care of her, even in play. The human in him didn't know what to think. He didn't like her in the romantic sense, he still loved Bella. But watching her play and swim in that probably-freezing water with the guys was certainly entertaining, especially when she stole the football from Paul at one point.

He met Embry's eyes as he came up behind the group, and knew his best friend got the silent cue to back off, even if that wasn't human-Jake's intention.

Embry nodded once to him before taking a seat near the middle of the blanket next to one of the baskets, so he could dig around to find some more food.

"Hey." Jake greeted, more to let the girls know he was there. The guys had already heard or smelt him.

He got multiple greetings back, and Lilly turned to smile at him over her shoulder, her lips a bit blue.

"You're looking a bit blue, there, Lilly." he grinned a bit at her as he lowered himself to sit on the blanket next to her.

She smiled and nodded in answer, holding her towel a bit tighter to her body.

"Nice of you to join us, Jake." Sam smirked over at him, probably noticing how close Jake chose to sit next to Lilly.

"Yeah well, I was hoping you guys left me some food." he grinned back.

Embry chucked a sandwich at him, which he caught in front of his face and began to unwrap the saran wrap from the food.

"We're thinking of heading back to our place in a bit. Lilly looks like she could use some hot chocolate." Emily smiled at Lilly, who blushed and looked down, her wet hair swinging forward to hide her face.

Jake smirked around his second bite, his eyes glancing down to watch the small girl at his side.

Her face was a bit of an oval shape, and she had a spattering of freckles across her cheeks and nose. Her almond-shaped, golden brown eyes were fixed on the ocean, where Quil and Seth were messing around, and when she laughed the green flecks in her eyes lit up and a dimple appeared at the corner of her mouth, and her bottom lip was bigger than her top lip. He'd noticed the past couple days that, while she didn't have the curves Bella did, she was also a couple inches taller at about 5'6".

A crisp breeze blew by, cutting through Lilly's towel, and she shivered, dipping her chin and nose into her towel to try and keep warm. Seeing this, Jake didn't even think before his arm was around her shoulder.

Lilly froze, looking up at him in shock. Jacob looked almost as surprised as her, staring at his arm as if it'd betrayed him. However, Lilly found she couldn't stop herself from snuggling closer to his side when another cold breeze blew by, trying to keep warm.

Jake ignored the smirks the guys were sharing, letting his hand hold her arm and keep her close to warm her up.

They stayed at the beach for another ten minutes before Emily decided they'd given Jake enough time to 'bond' with his imprint, announcing she wanted to get back home to make hot chocolate and start on dinner.

Everyone stood up and started packing up, and Lilly pulled her clothes back on over her damp swimsuit, brushing her tangled hair and braiding it back.

As the group made their way up the beach she couldn't help watching Jake where he was walking ahead of her with Quil. She didn't know what to think of him. He went from hating her to…whatever _that_ was. Not that she was complaining, he was like a walking space heater, like the other guys

And it's not like he was _bad_ looking.

 **XXX**

 **I just finished my last final of the semester today, so I figured I'd celebrate by posting this chapter a bit early. Not much to it apart from some fun and JakeXLilly bonding, but I hope everyone liked it.**


	10. Chapter 10

For the next week Lilly regularly hung out with the pack both inside and outside of school. Lilly and Kim got an 'A' on their Science project early on in the week, and she found she had pack members in nearly all of her classes.

Quil and Jake were in her 1st period History class, Jared and Embry were in gym with her, she obviously had 3rd period English with Paul, lunch, math with Embry and Quil, Study Hall with Seth and Jake, and Science with Kim. The only class she had with no pack members was her last class, drawing.

When lunch rolled around on Friday, Lilly and Paul arrived at the lunch table only a minute before Jake. He slumped into his chair before lifting his spoon and taking a huge scoop of mashed potatoes.

"You okay there, Jake?" Jared smirked a bit.

Jake glared at him. "I normally wouldn't care, but my dad's gonna kill me."

"Why?" Seth asked curiously.

Jake rolled his eyes. "I failed my math test."

Quil snorted. "Dude, you failed it?" he laughed.

"Didn't you fail your last math test, Ateara?" Paul scoffed.

"Possibly. But I got a 'B' on this last test." Quil boasted, which made Embry and Lilly roll their eyes.

"A _'B'_?! How in the _hell_ did _you_ get a _'B'_?!" Jake exclaimed after nearly choking on his food, looking at Quil in astonishment, along with half the table.

"That's insulting! I'll have you know I'm-"

"Lilly tutored him." Embry deadpanned, not wanting to hear Quil go on another brag fest like he had been since he succeeded in completing a math problem correctly on his own.

"You actually successfully taught him math?" Paul asked in shock, looking down at Lilly with his mouth hanging open.

Lilly shrugged in embarrassment, looking down at her tray.

"What did you two get on your tests?" Jared asked curiously, looking between Embry and Lilly.

"I got a high 'B'." Embry answered while Lilly typed out her score, _'A'_ into her phone and showed it to Paul so he could read it out loud to everyone.

"Hey, if you can successfully teach Quil math, tutoring Jake should be a walk in the park." Jared pointed out, smirking at Jake as he took a drink of his pop.

Jake and Lilly glanced at each other uncertainly.

"Yeah, that's perfect. Lilly's great at teaching math and you need the help more than Quil did." Embry added, also smirking.

Jake chewed his lip for a moment before meeting Lilly's eyes.

"Would…would you tutor me?" he asked hesitantly.

Lilly bit her own lip, looking over his face thoughtfully while everyone seemed to hold their breaths.

Finally, she smiled and gave a slight nod. Jake's shoulders relaxed in relief without him even realizing it and he smiled back.

"Great, thanks. Would after school today work? The sooner I start trying to improve my grade the less angry my dad'll be." he grinned in amusement with a shrug, watching with relief when she laughed and nodded.

"Great, she'll tutor you. Now can the rest of us eat without the threat of losing our lunch." Paul smirked, eating a hamburger.

XXX

A few hours later, the pack was gathered around their cars in the parking lot, talking for a few minutes before they went their separate ways. Lilly was standing with Seth and Quil, laughing at some of the stories they were exchanging.

Finally, Jake finished his conversation with Jared and turned toward Lilly, watching her for a few moments before calling out, "Hey, Lilly. Whenever you're ready." he smiled to let her know she didn't have to rush or anything.

She smiled back before hugging Seth goodbye and waving to Quil.

"Have fun tutoring!" Embry called with a smirk as Lilly approached Jake's red Volkswagen Rabbit.

"Yeah, don't do anything I wouldn't do, Jake!" Quil smirked, waggling his eyebrows. "We all know what _really_ happens when guys and girls tutor!" Lilly froze a few feet from the car, looking nervously at Jake.

Jacob rested one arm on the car roof above the driver's door, his other hand in his pocket. "Quil, I'd shut up if I were you." he warned calmly.

"I'm just saying." he grinned back while Lilly slowly continued to Jake's car and opened the front passenger door. "I don't want to be hearing anything I shouldn't on my patrol later."

Lilly exhaled sharply, turning on her heel and storming back the way she'd come. Quil had turned to laugh with Embry and didn't see her storming toward him. The others watched with curiosity as she slid her backpack off her shoulder and, when she was right behind Quil, swung it around and smacked it into the back of his head.

"Ow!" he shouted, lifting a hand to rub the back of his head, turning to glare at Lilly. She glared right back, not phased, as laughter erupted from the pack around her. She knew she couldn't hurt him. She only had two textbooks and a few notebooks in her bag. He could get hit with a brick and be fine in a couple hours.

"Serves you right for teasing her! She won't take your crap." Kim laughed, almost having to support Jared, who was hunched over in hysterics with his arm over her shoulder.

"Shut up." Quil grumbled, crossing his arms and pouting like a four year old.

Lilly smirked proudly, pulling her backpack onto one shoulder, marching back to Jake's car, and getting in the passenger side.

"See you guys later!" Jake called, getting into the car and starting it before pulling out of the parking lot.

He was still chuckling as he drove the short distance to his house. The sound made Lilly smile, a shiver running down her spine at the deep baritone.

When they pulled into the driveway of the small, red house Lilly frowned at the sight of a police car parked out front. Instantly images of cop cars, ambulances, and fire trucks parked in front of her old house flashed before her eyes and worry made her tighten her grip on her backpack.

"Lilly?" she looked over to see Jake watching her worriedly. She looked pointedly between him and the car. "Oh! Don't worry, that's Charlie's car. He's my dad's best friend and the police Chief in Forks." Jake explained reassuringly as he climbed out of the car. When Lilly followed him he paused and rested an arm on the car roof to look over at her. "Actually, you may have met him before, at least once. He used to go hunting with Harry and Old Quil, and I remember your Grandpa used to join them."

Lilly nodded slowly, briefly remembering another person meeting them for their hunting trips, and she didn't bother pointing out that her Gran also frequently joined them on hunting trips.

Jake jerked his head toward the house, silently telling her to follow him, and they headed toward the small house.

When Jake opened the front door, he stepped aside and let Lilly enter first as he called into the house, "Dad?"

The grumbling voices from the kitchen paused before his dad's voice called, "Jake? We're in the kitchen!"

Jake smiled at Lilly and headed that way, rounding the corner to see his dad waiting for him and Charlie Swan glowering into a coffee mug.

When Billy noticed Lilly peaking out from behind his son's arm, he grinned widely.

"Ah, Lilly! Good to see you." he greeted her kindly, to which she smiled back and waved.

"What's going on?" Jake asked, crossing his arms in a relaxed posture and looking between his dad and Charlie.

"Oh, it's nothing you need to worry about. Just the bitter ramblings of an old dad." Charlie waved off, glancing curiously at Lilly.

Jake noticed. "Oh, right, this is Lilly, she's going to help me with math. Lilly, this is Charlie Swan."

She smiled and waved as he nodded in greeting.

"So, is something up with Bella?" Jake asked curiously, ignoring the pointed look his dad was giving him.

Charlie sighed. "Well, apparently the Cullens got her plane tickets to visit her mom in Jacksonville for her birthday and, obviously, she never got around to using them with everything that happened. Now, they're going to expire soon so she's using them for this weekend. Should be home Monday night."

"And, what's wrong with that? I mean, she's got a right to visit her mom, Charlie." Jake pointed out.

"That's not the problem." Charlie grumbled, "The problem is…there's two tickets…so she's spending the weekend in Jacksonville with her boyfriend."

Lilly felt Jake stiffen up next to her, a low growl rumbling in his chest. She glanced nervously at him before looking to Billy, who seemed to notice his son's reaction.

"Hey, Lilly. Sue made these earlier today." he stated, grabbing a plate of cookies off the kitchen counter and holding them out. "Why don't you and Jake go to his room and start on your homework?" he suggested.

Lilly nodded, taking the plate with one hand and tugging on Jake's arm with her other hand. When he didn't budge, she lifted the plate and waved it under his nose.

Jake blinked rapidly, his nostrils flaring before his eyes switched down to the plate, the wild, golden color changing back to his normal dark brown. He sighed and stepped out of the kitchen, leading Lilly down a short hallway and into a small bedroom. The small, twin-sized bed took up nearly half the room, the window on the wall right over the bed with little trinkets on the windowsill. Clothes littered the floor, which Jake kicked aside as he entered the room.

"Sorry." he mumbled quietly, waving his hand toward the bed. Lilly took a silent breath before entering the room and sitting stiffly on the edge of the bed, placing the plate of cookies next to her. She pulled her legs up to her chest as Jake closed the door and started pacing, his muscles trembling.

His hands flew up to rake roughly through his hair, nearly ripping the strands out.

"That-that _parasite_!" he snarled, the animalistic sound making Lilly flinch. "Do you know what this means?" he demanded, spinning around to face Lilly for less than a second before pacing again.

Lilly simply watched him, her eyes following him as he moved and trying to ignore the nagging in her gut.

"He's changing her! The legends say it takes an average of three days for the change to be complete. That bloodsucker is going to bite her and turn her into one of them." he snarled, fists clenched at his sides.

Lilly sighed quietly, resting her chin on her knees. She could understand Jake being hurt by what Bella did to him, and since he cared about her it would obviously hurt that she'd be willing to basically die. But at the same time, she wasn't a big fan of this girl. She didn't know her very well, and the one time they met Lilly had been in the middle of a panic attack, but she didn't seem to have any regard for how her actions hurt those around her.

So, she simply let Jake get his feelings off his chest, only paying half attention and eating one of Sue's double chocolate chip cookies.

 **XXX**

 **I know it's short, and it probably feels like we backtracked on Jake and Lilly's relationship, but bear with me! I have a plan!**

 **And a fair warning; I am not a very big fan of Bella. That being said, her and Jake are a little OOC in this story. I kind of need Bella to play the bad guy a little bit for this story to work, so I kind of exaggerate her evil selfishness. If you don't like that, you may not like this story, especially in a few chapters.**

 **That's all for now! Let me know what you thought of this chapter!**


	11. Chapter 11

Saturday was mostly spent at Emily's, hanging out with the girls and any guys that stopped by. However, Lilly went home for dinner, since she felt she hadn't seen her Grandma much in the past week. After she ate, she took a quick shower and decided to get some reading in for her English class, since she had a quiz over the next two chapters on Tuesday. She had no doubt that Paul would approach her by the start of class Tuesday to get a brief synopsis of the content.

Around 10:30, Lilly decided to call it a night, returning her book to her backpack and falling into bed, Dash curling up at her side.

It felt like she'd only just closed her eyes when they flashed open again. She sat up quickly, her blanket falling to her waist, as she quickly scanned the dark room with her eyes.

They landed on her alarm clock, which flashed 1:35 AM.

Lilly sighed, looking around her room as she tried to figure out what woke her up. Out of nowhere, a shiver ran violently up her spine, making her arms wrap around her middle in an attempt to stifle it.

A second later a sharp howl ripped through the sky, making her head snap toward her bedroom window.

It didn't sound like a good howl. It sounded like one of the howls the guys let out just before the rest of the pack bolted out the door.

Lilly tried to fall back asleep, but it was difficult. It wasn't until about four in the morning before she finally drifted off.

XXX

The next morning Jake arrived bright and early to pick Lilly up to take her to Emily's for breakfast. Well, it was bright and early to her, at 9:00 in the morning on a Sunday. She went willingly, but scowled tiredly the whole time, still not missing the fact that Jake was on edge.

When they got in his car she kept her eyes fixed on his profile, noting how his jaw ticked with tension and his hands kept re-gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles.

She also noticed he kept glancing at her from the corner of his eyes.

Finally, he sighed, his whole posture deflating with his eyes fixed on the road ahead. "Why are you staring at me?" he asked tiredly.

Lilly bit her lip, contemplating what she even wanted to ask. Finally, she pulled her phone out of her jean pocket and typed out, _'I heard howling last night'_. She held her hand toward him patiently.

His eyes left the road for a second, flicking over to read the small screen. He sighed when he looked back to the road, knowing what she wanted without her needing to ask. Heck, he knew what she wanted before _he_ even asked.

"Last night…this redheaded vampire we've been chasing for a while ran through the area. The Cullens were chasing her, too, on their territory. Damn leech knew what she was doing, jumping back and forth over the border to get away from us. After a while the big Cullen followed her over the border onto our land and crashed into Paul. Paul almost went after him, but the other Cullens showed up and we probably would've had a fight on our hands 'cept the Doctor talked us down. Unfortunately, the redhead got away because of that."

Lilly's brow furrowed in concern at the thought of a human-drinking vampire running rampant in the area.

Jake glanced at her and seemed to understand what she was thinking. "Don't worry. The redhead usually disappears for a couple weeks at least until she comes back. She's pretty tricky but as soon as we show up her first instinct is to run, that seems to be all she's good at. Getting away. So you're pretty safe as long as you stay out of the woods, and preferably stay on the rez."

Lilly nodded in understanding, turning to face forward in time to realize they'd turned onto the wooded path that lead to Sam and Emily's house, coming to a stop in front of the small home.

Lilly climbed out and followed Jake up to the house, where they found most of the pack in the kitchen.

Seth, Jared, and Embry were laughing and messing around, stealing each other's food; Sam was leaning against the kitchen counter next to the stove, eating out of his plate, while Emily was making something on the stove; and Paul was sitting at the table with the guys, but he was glaring at his food. Leah and Quil were nowhere to be seen, probably on patrol.

Jake went right for the huge serving bowl of scrambled eggs and giant plate of bacon on the counter, taking a smaller plate and piling the food on.

"You better not eat all of it, Jake. Lilly needs to eat, too." Emily pointed out, smiling at Lilly over her shoulder.

Jake glanced back at Lilly before grudgingly stepping back from the food and waving her forward. Jared and Sam hid their smirks by eating as Lilly approached the food, giving Jake a smile.

She piled about half the amount of food a wolf ate onto her plate before going to the table and sitting between Seth and Paul. She noticed throughout the meal that Paul remained unusually quiet, simply devouring his food without so much as a sarcastic comment or wisecrack. Lilly also noticed that Sam and Jared glanced at him a few times, as if they knew what was bothering him.

She had a bit of an idea what was wrong.

As soon as he was done, Paul dumped his plate in the sink and walked out the back door. The guys were all finished before Lilly and went their separate ways; Sam stayed in the kitchen with Emily, Jared left to get Kim, and Embry, Seth, and Jake went to the living room to watch TV.

When Lilly was finished eating a few minutes later, she stood up and had to reach around Emily to place her plate in the sink. Before she left she quickly wrapped her arms around Emily's midsection in a tight hug. Emily chuckled lightly, hugging Lilly back just as tightly for a few moments before Lilly pulled back. She smiled at both Emily and Sam before leaving the room and entering the living room where the others were.

The guys were taking up the whole couch, Seth leaning forward and watching a sports game eagerly while Jake and Embry were relaxed into the back of the couch.

Lilly's eyes flickered to the back door and spotted the top of someone's cropped, black hair.

Instead of sitting down like she'd planned, Lilly crossed the room to the back door and quietly turned the knob, opening the door and slipping outside. The door clicked shut quietly, but she knew he heard her. She crossed the short, back porch and took a seat on the top step next to Paul.

They sat in silence, staring out into the trees, lost in their own thoughts. Part of Lilly considered coming back to this spot later to draw a sketch of the shadowy trees and worn pathway.

"I'm assuming Jake told you what happened last night." Paul stated simply.

Lilly turned her head to see him still staring ahead into the trees. She didn't answer, or nod her head. He already knew the answer.

"That leech was on _our_ land." Paul snarled, his lips drawing back to reveal his teeth for a moment before falling back into a thin line. "The head leech claimed he was in No Man's land, but that's crap. I know our territory like the back of my hand, the whole pack does, and that parasite landed on our territory. I was in every right to take him down."

Lilly nodded in agreement. From what Jake had said, as well as the little tidbits she'd heard from the guys at breakfast, it sounded like they were all in agreement on the fact that the one Cullen had landed on the pack's territory, which violates the Treaty. And in any fair Treaty, if one side is in violation of their agreement, the other side has every right to retaliate to protect their land and families.

Paul turned his head to look down at her. "Why are you out here, anyway? I'm surprised the guys are letting you sit with the hothead without any kind of supervision."

They both looked over their shoulders and through the window next to the back door. Sure enough, Jake and Embry were watching them both closely, looking away rather quick when they were caught.

Lilly laughed quietly, causing Paul to smirk a bit as they both turned around.

"Sam almost put me on extra patrols as punishment for 'almost starting a war', but deep down he agreed that they were the ones in the wrong. Jake knew from the leech lover that the big Cullen and the blondie are mates, and if I killed him his mate would've gone insane. We're already having issues with the redhead because of that, we don't need the same problem, along with the entire coven backing blondie up."

Lilly nodded but was still confused. When Paul noticed her furrowed brow, he went into further detail, "The redhead we've been chasing for a while wants to kill Bella because her Cullen killed the redhead's mate. An eye for an eye."

Lilly nodded slowly, not really liking the fact that this Bella was causing yet another problem. First, she breaks Jake's heart by leaving him first chance she gets, then she brings a human-drinking Cold One into the area who's causing problems for the pack.

Paul suddenly chuckled and Lilly looked up. "What's with the face?" he asked in amusement, and Lilly realized she'd been wrinkling her nose.

Not wanting to explain her thought process, she pulled out her phone and typed out, _'Who named her leech lover?'_

Paul glared teasingly. "I did. Why, you gotta problem with it?" he joked.

Lilly grimaced and typed out, _'It's ok'._

"'Okay'? And I suppose you can come up with something better?" Paul asked in amusement, turning to sit sideways with his back against the post, arms crossed, one leg bent up on the porch with him, and the other foot on the next step down.

Lilly looked up thoughtfully. Vampires went by lots of names, especially in the packs' case. Vampires, Cold Ones, leeches, bloodsuckers, ticks she'd even heard Paul call them a corpse once. What kind of name could she give Bella that wasn't using the word 'leech'. Playing around with words for a moment, her face literally lit up as an idea popped into her head.

She quickly typed out, _'Vamp tramp'_ on her phone and held the screen out for Paul to see. He took one look at the words and burst out laughing, his eyes bright with amusement and mischief as he practically curled in on himself. His laughter was contagious as Lilly soon joined in. They were laughing for a good minute before someone cleared their throat.

They turned to see Jake, Embry, and Seth standing in the open doorway, watching them curiously. Lilly quickly deleted her message so Jake wouldn't see. Since he liked Bella he probably wouldn't like that she gave her an insulting nickname.

"What's so funny?" Embry asked with a smirk, a devious glint in his eyes.

Paul and Lilly glanced at each other, and Lilly knew he was tempted to tell them, so she subtly shook her head, even though the other guys could probably see. Paul rolled his eyes, but abided by her wishes. "Oh, nothing you'd be interested in."

They looked like they didn't believe them, but turned and headed back inside anyway, Jake throwing one last suspicious glance at the pair as he went.

Paul and Lilly stood up to head inside as well. Just before Lilly crossed through the doorway, Paul leaned down and whispered, "For the record, I am _so_ calling her that from now on."

Lilly smirked at him before walking inside and sitting on the floor next to Seth.

 **XXX**

 **How does everyone like the new nickname? Sure, it's not the best, but it randomly popped into my head one day and I ran with it. 'Leech Lover' is just** _ **so**_ **overdone ; )**

 **Anyway, since I won't be updating again until after the 25** **th** **for sure, I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!**


	12. Chapter 12

Tuesday morning, Lilly walked to school, letting the crisp wind wake up her senses. When she reached the school parking lot, she found most of the pack surrounding Jared's truck. She frowned, realizing several of them had serious, grim, or flat out angry expressions on their faces as they talked.

She approached them and looked expectantly among them, silently demanding an answer when they turned to greet her.

Embry gave her a grim smile, almost a grimace. "It's nothing bad, Lilly. We're just talking about…you know, Bella."

She nodded slowly, still a bit confused. She knew the Swan girl was supposed to be back in town by now after visiting her mom with her vampire boyfriend, what was there to talk about?

"Sam needed someone to go talk to the Cullens this morning, you know, to warn them about staying off our territory after what happened Sunday."

Lilly nodded again, this time with more vigor. That seemed rather obvious.

Quil sighed tiredly. "Jake volunteered."

Lilly made an 'o' with her mouth, realizing Jake wasn't among the group. Actually, he was the only one currently missing apart from Sam and Leah.

Jared nodded, "Yeah. We all figure he's mainly going to make sure Bella's still human. He'll give Cullen the warning, but Bella's the main reason he went."

Lilly nodded again in understanding, her eyes fixed on the ground. She didn't know why Jake's… _obsession_ with Bella bothered her so much.

After another few minutes of discussing the issue, everyone headed inside to get to their first class.

She sat next to Quil in first period History, her eyes repeatedly straying to the classroom door. Jake didn't show up at all the first class. By the time lunch rolled around without so much as a sniff of Jacob, it was safe to assume he wasn't coming to school, probably to spend the day with Bella Swan.

XXX

Jake grinned down at Bella as he pushed his bike around his house toward the garage. They'd just road around some back roads for a couple hours before heading back to hang out at the garage. He knew Sam and his dad were going to skin him alive for skipping school, but he hadn't had the chance to hang out with Bells since she went to save her bloodsucker.

"So, how've things been with you lately?" Bella asked, looking up at him.

Jake thought about it. "I guess they've been okay. You know, apart from school and turning into a giant dog in my spare time." he joked.

"Has anything happened lately with the pack besides chasing Victoria?"

"Well, we've got three new members since you last came around. Quil, Seth, and Leah."

"Leah? A girl? I didn't think girls phased."

"We didn't, either. She's the first on record. Her and Seth both, really. She's the first girl and he's the youngest we've ever had. He's just fifteen years old. Sam's been trying to keep him off patrols so he can catch up on his studying, but the kid's been chomping at the bit. I almost wish he'd keep Leah off patrols, too." he grumbled the last sentence.

Bella elbowed his arm. "Come on, Jake, don't be such a guy."

"No, it's not a chick thing. It's a…triangle thing. We all have to live the Leah-Sam-Emily pain fest. You know, wolf mind."

Bella frowned up at him. "Wait, what? You mean, Sam dumped Leah for Emily?"

Jake grimaced. "No, it's a bit more complicated than that. Sam hates himself for hurting Leah. But…Emily was _the one_." he stated almost sarcastically.

"Yeah, I guess it sorta chooses you sometimes." Bella looked down awkwardly.

Jake almost snorted. "No, it's more than just some crush. Sam _imprinted_ on Emily."

"Do I even want to know what that is?"

By that point they'd entered the garage and Jake knocked the kickstand down while Bella leaned back against the other bike.

Jake leaned forward, one hand on the bike's handlebar, the other on the seat as he thought about his words.

He started slowly, his eyes gazing over at Bella. "Imprinting on someone is like…" Bella's brown eyes looked wrong, so he looked down at the floor instead, trying to remember how it felt, "like when you see her,…everything changes…All of a sudden it's not gravity holding you to the planet." Lilly's face swam into his vision, her cinnamon and green apple scent filling his nostrils, "It's her. Nothing else matters. You would do anything… _Be_ anything for her."

"It sounds like you know the feeling." Bella's awkward voice broke through Jake's thoughts, and he looked over at her. He pushed his conflicting feelings into the back of his head, trying to put Lilly out of his mind. When Bella's words registered in his mind, he looked down, unable to meet her searching eyes. She immediately caught on. "Have you… _imprinted_ on someone?" she asked. It almost sounded like her tone was accusing.

Jake swallowed thickly, his Adam's apple bobbing as his eyes slowly rose up to meet hers.

Bella searched his eyes, looking lost in her thoughts. "Was it…that girl? The one that had a panic attack in the hospital?"

"She had every right to react that way." Jake gritted out, instinctively defending his imprint. He may not have any romantic feelings for Lilly, but anyone who saw a vampire kill their parents would panic when face-to-face with one. It was common sense. It was _human_.

"You _did_!" Bella shouted, standing upright. Jake winced. "Why? You don't even know her, and now you're suddenly in love with her?"

"It's not like that." Jake growled, his fist clenching around the handlebar. "I have no romantic feelings for her, she's a friend. Nothing more."

"Until she needs more, right? That's what you just said. If she needs you to love her, you will, you won't get any choice!" Bella shouted, outraged.

"Enough!" Jake shouted, grabbing a wrench off a bench and chucking it at the wall. Bella flinched and everything went silent for a few moments.

"I'm not lying to you, Bella. I have no romantic feelings for Lilly. We're barely friends, she hangs out with the pack more than she does me. I'm just…her protector." Jake spoke quietly, his voice carrying easily in the silence. Finally, he turned and looked at the girl he'd been in love with for so long. At one point he would've smirked or done a silent cheer at the fact that Bella…was _jealous_ at the thought of Jake being in love with another girl. He _should've_ been happy. But he felt indifferent.

Shaking those thoughts away, he cleared his throat. "Look, this is the first time we've hung out in a few weeks, Bells. Can we please not spend it fighting? Lilly is just a friend, nothing more. I'm still me, and we're still…us. Right?"

Bella smiled, but Jake could still see the worry and doubt. They pushed forward, anyway. They spent the day in the garage, then ate lunch on the living room couch in front of the TV. When it neared 4:00 he knew he should head over to Sam and Emily's to check in, or else Sam would have his head.

XXX

Lilly made her way through the rest of her classes for the day until she was finally leaving her last class.

Unfortunately, her plan to go straight to her locker and get the heck out of school was delayed by a group of girls standing in her way.

"Hey, Mute. How was your day?" Bridgette asked in a sweet voice, "Oh, wait. I forgot, you can't answer that question." Diana and Julie giggled like it was hilarious. Then, Bridgette stepped forward, getting in Lilly's face. "I've noticed you getting a bit friendly with the guys in the La Push Gang, and I'm telling you, they're out of your league by miles. And Paul…well, I can easily get any guy I want, and Paul is an amazing lay. Unfortunately, he seems rather fond of you and hasn't been giving me the attention I need. So, I'm warning you just this once. Stay away from him." she stated firmly, glaring down into Lilly's face.

Probably not her best move, but Lilly couldn't help rolling her eyes.

Bridgette's eyes flashed in anger before her hand rose. One second, Lilly was fine, the next, her head was snapped to the side, her right cheek stinging, and her eyes and mouth open in shock.

She slowly turned back to stare up at Bridgette, who met her gaze with a glare before turning and stomping down the hall.

Lilly stood there for a moment in shock, her hand slowly leaving her pile of books and raising to touch her burning cheek. She winced when her fingertips touched the tender skin.

'I _really_ hope that doesn't bruise,' she thought to herself, heading to her locker. She knew if the guys saw a mark on her cheek they'd flip.

She reached her locker and put the couple things she'd need for homework in her backpack before heading for the front door. She could tell by the constant burning in her cheek that her skin was at least red, if not bruised.

She walked out the front doors slowly, dreading the interaction she knew she would have to face when she joined the guys. She could see that about half of them were already at the usual meeting place at Jared's truck; Paul, Quil, Jared, and Kim.

Sucking in a deep breath, Lilly used her fingers to brush her hair forward a bit to hide her cheek, then headed toward them with her head ducked down.

"Hey Lilly." a couple voices greeted when she reached them. She nodded, afraid to lift her face.

"You okay, Lil?" Quil asked curiously, taking a few steps closer to her.

Paul tilted his head a bit, trying to catch a glimpse of her face. He spotted red around her face and stepped forward, grabbing her shoulder and pushing back. Her head instinctively tipped up enough to reveal a huge red mark in the shape of a hand that covered most of her cheek, stretching over her cheekbone, toward her ear, and down to her jaw.

A snarl erupted in Paul's chest, echoed by Quil and Jared as they stepped forward to get a better look. Lilly ducked her head and turned away so her right cheek wasn't visible.

"Who the hell did that, Lilly?" Paul demanded. Lilly shook her head, silently saying she wasn't telling.

"What's going on?" Embry asked as he came to a stop on Lilly's right, Seth joining a moment later.

"Why don't you take a look at Lilly's cheek?" Paul suggested harshly.

Embry looked down at the 5'6" girl standing next to him, noticing her head was ducked so her wavy, black hair fell over her face like a curtain. Brow furrowed, Embry reached down and hooked his finger under her chin, forcing her face up. When his eyes landed on her cheek a tremor rocked his spine.

"What happened?" he demanded, staring into her eyes.

Lilly once again shook her head, crossing her arms and looking away from all of them.

"Why the hell won't you tell us? Someone obviously slapped you, now who was it!?" Paul demanded angrily.

Lilly glared up at him, but kept her lips firmly shut.

"Alright, lets calm down, okay? If she doesn't want to tell us she doesn't have to, even though she probably should," Jared looked pointedly at Lilly, but she merely sniffed, "Let's just head to Emily's, okay? Lilly's cheek is starting to swell and she probably needs an ice pack."

The others nodded, though Paul continued glaring at Lilly as they climbed into separate vehicles. Paul and Kim road in Jared's truck while Embry, Lilly, and Seth got in Old Quil's car, which he let Quil use since he rarely had a use for it during the day.

There was a tense silence as they made the short journey, which Quil and Seth quickly tried to break by talking about funny stuff that happened in a few of their classes. Lilly almost sighed in relief when they pulled up to Sam and Emily's, but she also knew Emily was bound to get upset at the sight of the bruise that was forming on her cheek.

She climbed out of the car when it stopped just in time to see Paul entering the house, since they'd arrived just before Quil's car.

Lilly let the others head her off, taking deliberately slow steps up the porch and into the house. When she entered the kitchen Sam was sending Seth out to start his patrol. Seth's patrols were usually right after school and only for a couple hours so he could still do homework and sleep. Sam and Jared were seated at the table, Kim on Jared's lap, Quil and Embry joining him, Emily was frying something at the stove, and Paul was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

"Hey Emily, you got any ice packs?" Paul asked pointedly.

Emily turned to look at him, her face scrunched up in confusion. "Well, I've got a few bags of frozen vegetables in the freezer…but why would you need an ice pack, Paul? Your body heat would melt it within minutes."

"Not for me, for Lilly." he stated simply, his eyes flicking in Lilly's direction by the doorway.

Emily's head snapped around so fast Lilly was surprised she didn't crack her neck. When she saw Lilly's face, her mouth fell open in horror.

"Oh my God! What happened to you?!" Emily shouted, flicking the stove off and hurrying around the table to stand in front of Lilly. One hand rested on Lilly's shoulder while her other hand gently brushed Lilly's hair out of her face so she could see her bruised cheek. Lilly winced a bit when Emily's finger barely grazed the tender skin. "Oh, sweetie, who did this?" Emily asked worriedly.

"She refuses to tell us." Paul griped, his arms tense across his chest. "She came out of school like that."

Emily looked Lilly in the eye and the young girl found herself lowering her face, unable to meet the kind woman's eyes.

"Well, let's get you an ice pack before it swells too much." Emily finally decided, leading Lilly into an empty chair across from the others before heading for the freezer. Lilly dropped her backpack on the ground before taking her seat.

"You're not going to even _try_ to get an answer out of her?!" Paul asked in disbelief, gaping at the scarred woman as she opened the freezer.

"If she wants to tell someone, she will, Paul. No use upsetting her by trying to force an answer out of her." Emily stated, pulling out a bag of frozen peas and passing it across the table to Lilly before going back to the stove.

Lilly tentatively placed the freezing bag against her cheek, wincing at the initial sting before slowly pressing it against her face.

"Well, we could try to figure it out." Embry stated, watching Lilly as her eyes hesitantly traveled to his. "The handprint isn't that big, much smaller than mine, so I'd guess it's a girl."

Lilly's eyes dropped to the tabletop.

It was quiet for a moment before Kim spoke quietly, "It wasn't there in our science class sixth hour."

"And since it's just now bruising and swelling I'd say it happened sometime after seventh hour." Jared stated.

"So does that mean I can't hit them, since it's probably a girl?" Paul asked in disappointment.

"We could ask Leah to beat her up." Quil suggested.

"She wouldn't do it." Jared shook his head.

"Sick Kim on the person." Embry suggested, smirking at the girl on Jared's lap.

Kim blinked. "What could I do? I can't fight. I'd probably get beat up."

"Well, if that happened then one of us could take her out, because that'd be two imp-um,…of our girls injured. Right?" Quil suggested, smiling uncertainly near the end while a couple of the guys glared at him.

"No one is beating anyone up." Emily stated firmly, turning around with a large plate of fried chicken. She placed it on the table and stepped back just in time for the guys to practically lunge for it. When their hands retreated Lilly grabbed a couple pieces and placed them on a smaller plate in front of her.

The humor in it is that this was merely an after-school snack. Emily would be cooking dinner soon.

Lilly was nearly done with her second piece when Embry looked over his shoulder out the window.

"Jake's here. Hey! He brought Bella!" Embry quickly stood up, followed by Quil, Jared, and Paul while Lilly focused on gnawing the last scraps of chicken off the bone. Kim also chose to stay, talking with Emily.

When she finished a moment later she looked over her shoulder to see the guys bounding off the porch in front of Jake, who was wearing a tight, black T-shirt, and the pale brunette, Bella Swan. After a few moments of talking the guys burst out laughing and Jake's awkward smile screamed embarrassment.

"Why don't you go join them?" Emily suggested as Sam joined her at the sink, starting to wash the dishes. "I'm sure the guys are giving Jake hell by now."

Sam chuckled. "Oh, they are." his small smirk confirmed he could hear what was being said.

Lilly smiled, glancing nervously between the bag of frozen peas on the table and the group outside.

"Oh, and you should be keeping that bag on your face a bit more, Lilly. It really will help." Emily suggested in a tone that was both motherly advice and an order rolled into one.

Sighing, Lilly grabbed the bag of peas and walked out the door about the same time Leah came stomping out of the woods. Lilly stayed on the porch, leaning forward so the front of her right shoulder was against the porch beam with the bag in both hands hanging in front of her. She also rested her forehead on the beam so that the right half of her face was hidden from view, just in case.

"Bella, this is Leah Clearwater…Harry's daughter." Jake introduced quietly.

Bella's eyes lowered awkwardly before looking back at Leah. "Hey…I'm really sorry about your father." she said, her voice awkward and empty of emotion.

From behind most of the pack on the porch, Lilly could see Leah's back tremble, a sign of her anger.

"If you're here to torture Jacob some more, feel free to leave." Leah suggested coolly before turning and stalking back into the trees the way she'd come while the others looked down awkwardly, Quil rocking back on his heels as he exchanged a glance with Embry.

Jake looked down at Bella. "Fun, isn't she?" he glanced up only to double take when he spotted Lilly on the porch. She released the bag of peas with one hand to wave before returning her hand to it's place.

Jake looked her over silently, taking note of the familiar green and white bag in her hands. The guys parted to let him through when he stepped forward, ignoring Bella calling his name.

He walked up the porch steps until he stood on the one below her, still towering over her by a good six inches with his eyes staring down into the one that was visible.

"Lilly?" he questioned quietly, his tone warning her to give him an answer.

She simply bit her lips nervously, looking down.

Jake's nostrils flared before his hand lifted to cup her chin, turning her face so he could see the side she was hiding behind the beam. Her eyes closed and she sighed in defeat when her bruised right cheek was revealed.

Jake growled lowly. "What the hell happened?" he demanded darkly.

"We've been trying to get the answer out of her since we got out of school. She refuses to answer." Paul announced loudly, clearly hoping Jake could get an answer out of her.

"Lilly, who did this?" Jake growled quietly, sounding more threatening than she'd ever heard, which caused her to flinch in fear.

"Jacob, leave the poor girl alone." Emily scolded, opening the door and stepping out with Sam right behind her. "If she wants to tell someone she will. Or she might give you hints, but scaring her isn't going to get you anywhere."

Jake examined Lilly and realized Emily was right, Lilly's scent was mildly tainted with fear.

He sighed, "Sorry," dropping his hand from her chin and leaning back so he wasn't crowding her.

She nodded tensely before turning to head back inside.

Emily greeted Bella while the others followed Lilly into the house.

"So, will you at least give us a hint?" Embry asked as Lilly sat down in the seat she'd been in earlier. Kim was sitting in the chair next to her.

She sighed and shook her head negatively in answer, lifting the bag up to her cheek.

"You know, all we have to do is ask a bunch of the kids in your seventh hour class. Surely someone saw what happened." Quil pointed out smugly.

Lilly glared at him before quickly snatching a chicken bone off a nearby plate and chucking it at his face, but he caught it with his hand easily.

She typed out a quick message before showing it to Kim to read.

"'Be a good dog and choke on a chicken bone.'" she read in amusement.

The guys had reactions stemming between shock, amusement, and mock offense.

"Ouch, that's just cruel." Quil joked, putting a hand to his chest.

By this point everyone was back inside. Jared went down the hall and came back a moment later with a football between his hands.

"Who wants to play some football before dinner?" Jared asked loudly.

"Touch or tackle?" Embry asked eagerly.

Paul scoffed, already heading for the back door. "Dude, if you want to play touch you can stay in here with the girls, _where's it's safe._ " he taunted, Jared and Quil already following him outside.

Embry quickly followed them, and Sam followed after kissing Emily on the cheek. Jake glanced longing after them before looking hopefully down at Bella.

"Bells, I'm gonna join them. You can hang out in here with the girls, okay?" before she could protest, Jake hurried out the door after his brothers.

"You girls can go watch them if you want. It can be rather entertaining." Emily suggested before looking back at Kim, "And I could teach you to make hamburgers now, if you want, Kim."

Kim nodded excitedly. "Yes please."

Lilly smiled at them before standing and heading toward the back porch to watch the guys play football.

She sat down on the steps, her thawing bag of peas still pressed to her cheek. They had just separated into teams of Sam, Quil, and Jared against Paul, Embry, and Jake when Bella came out and sat down next to Lilly on the porch.

They sat in silence, watching the game start. Lilly smirked a bit every time one of the guys tackled the others, their skin smacking together in the air.

"It sure is entertaining, watching them. Almost as fun as watching the Cullens play baseball." Bella spoke quietly.

Lilly nodded distractedly, her eyes fixed on Jake as he tackled Quil into the dirt.

"I don't think we've been officially introduced. My name's Bella. What's yours?" Bella asked.

Lilly laid the bag of peas on her lap before pulling a small notepad out of her back jean pocket. She used this notepad when her phone battery was getting low. Pulling a small pencil from the spiral, she wrote, _'Lilly'_

She showed it to Bella, who read it uncertainly.

"You…You can't talk?" she asked in confusion.

Lilly looked down awkwardly, not sure if she wanted to answer. Despite her doubts, Lilly wrote out, _'I choose not to.'_

When Bella read it, she asked the question that everyone asks. "Why?"

Lilly sighed, chewing on her bottom lip. She really didn't want to answer that question. But, Bella was important to Jake. Maybe if she was nice to her they could get along, if only for Jake's sake.

 _'I stopped talking around the time my parents died.'_

She slowly showed the notepad to Bella.

Bella stared at the notepad for several moments, perplexed. "Well, isn't that a bit immature? I mean, death is a part of life unless you're some kind of immortal creature. It's childish to stop talking because someone died."

Luckily, a loud array of cussing on Paul's part drew Bella's attention back to the game, so she didn't see the burning glare Lilly was directing into the side of her head.

Fuming, Lilly turned to face forward again, her hands clenched into fists on her lap. How _dare_ she? How dare she judge someone when she knew _nothing_ of what Lilly went through? Yes, death was a part of life, but that didn't mean it was easy to go through. Seeing someone you love, your family, laying dead in their bloodstained bed sheets would traumatize anyone, especially a 13 year old girl.

Lilly realized she should probably leave, otherwise she just might deck Bella in the face. She stood up and went back inside, not even bothering with an excuse for the self-centered 'vamp tramp'. Entering the living room, Lilly heard Emily and Kim laughing and talking lightly as they cooked and couldn't bring herself to dampen their moods with her anger. So, she decided she'd head home. After all, she did have homework to do.

So, she quickly wrote out, _'I'm going to head home. I've got homework.'_

When she entered the kitchen, she approached Emily and Kim, who were both working over the stove, frying hamburgers on the frying pan.

She cleared her throat and waited for the girls to look at her before she held the notepad up for them to read.

Emily frowned in concern. "Are you sure? You could sit in here and work on it."

She smiled appreciatively, but shook her head.

"It does get a bit loud, doesn't it?" Kim sympathized, to which Lilly nodded, feeling bad that she was lying to them.

Wanting to leave quickly, she put the thawed bag of peas back in the freezer, grabbed her backpack, and waved to the two girls as she walked out the front door.

XXX

When Kim came out to tell everyone that dinner would be ready soon, all the guys ended the game and started for the back door. Quil gave Jake a lighthearted shove as he passed him up, but Jake was too busy rubbing at his chest to notice, trying to make the dull aching he'd been feeling go away.

When he looked up he smiled at Bella, who was still sitting on the porch steps, but it fell to a frown when he realized Lilly wasn't there anymore. The last time he looked she'd been sitting on the porch next to Bella.

Bells stood up to greet him while the other guys hurried past her to get to their food.

"Good game?" she asked with a small smile.

Jake shrugged with a grin. "We won, so I can't complain."

"Yeah! 'Cause you cheated!" Quil shouted as Jake and Bella entered the house.

"Oh, shove a sock in it, Ateara." Paul smirked, grabbing a plate and sitting at the table to eat.

Jake looked down at Bella. "Hey, do you know where Lilly went?"

Bella frowned, and Jake wasn't sure what to make of her expression.

"Oh, she just randomly got up and walked away without saying anything. Bit rude, honestly."

Jake frowned in confusion. That didn't sound like Lilly. When they entered the kitchen, he looked around, but knew even before he tried that she wasn't there.

"Hey, Em?" Jake asked as he grabbed a plate from the counter next to Emily. "Do you know where Lilly went?"

Emily frowned. "She said she was going home to do homework."

Jake glanced at the guys at the table, all of whom were frowning at Emily in concern. Something didn't add up.


	13. Chapter 13

Lilly huffed, her arms crossed as she stomped down the road. The gray sky above rumbled before rain started falling. She groaned, feeling frustration now as well as anger.

She still had a bit of a walk until she got home, and the rain was gradually getting harder. She glanced to her right, into the dark trees at the edge of the forest, her mind calculating the short path into the woods that would take her behind several backyards to her own in less than half the time the sidewalk would take.

If Lilly wasn't so angry at Bella, or frustrated with the weather, or desperate to get home quickly so she could cuddle with Dash her mind wouldn't even consider going through the woods.

Unfortunately, she _was_ all of those things. And that's what caused her to veer off the wet sidewalk and into the muddy, yet sheltered, forest.

The treetops stopped most of the rain, but the forest floor was still covered in mud puddles.

After a few minutes of walking, Lilly heard a rustle up ahead. She faltered in her step, her anger melting away as her eyes flickered about frantically, but continued walking.

Several pounding heartbeats later, a twig snapped behind her. Lilly spun around, nearly twisting her ankle in the damp leaves as her eyes scanned the trees around her.

She held her breath for a long time, simply listening to the quiet forest, the only sounds being the pitter-patter of the raindrops.

Finally, she released her breath, deciding she was being paranoid. Either way, she wanted to get home and out of the creepy forest.

Turning back around, she picked up her pace to a fast walk in the direction of her house. After a few minutes of nothing, her pace slowed just a bit, her heartbeat returning to normal. She was just being paranoid.

Something flashed at the corner of Lilly's eye and her head snapped to the side, her body freezing in fear.

There, standing several yards away, was a tall, attractive man with blonde hair wearing jeans and a leather jacket, a red shirt in his hand. But what made Lilly's entire being freeze in terror was his blood-red eyes.

"You shouldn't be wandering about in these woods, little girl. You never know what kind of monsters may be lurking about, hungry for a snack." he said, his voice smooth as velvet as he stared at her.

Lilly's breathing picked up in panic, her chest rising and falling frantically as she took a few steps back.

She blinked and the man was suddenly right in front of her. She gasped as it triggered a flashback of the night her parents died, the other Cold One did the exact same thing. She staggered backward to get away from him, slipping on the wet leaves and falling backward. The vampire stepped forward at a leisurely pace, which only caused her to scoot back quickly until her back hit a tree trunk. She whimpered in fear as he stopped right in front of her, crouching down so their faces were mere inches apart. His breath on her face was cold and smelled of death, making her stomach clench with nausea.

"Now, now, there's no need to panic. I promise to make this as quick as possible." he grinned.

Lilly closed her eyes, waiting for the prick of fangs in her skin, or burning pain, but after several seconds of nothing she hesitantly peaked her eyes open. The vampire was looking to his left, his red eyes scanning the trees with something akin to worry or fear.

"No." he murmured quietly. Lilly strained her ears and barely made out the pounding of many footsteps coming towards them.

The vampire blurred away just as a large, silver wolf charged through the trees followed by a larger black one, a gray one, until they all blurred together. The pack chased the vampire through the trees until they disappeared from view. But to Lilly's surprise, one of the largest wolves slowed to a stop before he even left her sight.

His eyes stayed fixed into the distance, where his pack had chased the enemy, his lips pulled back into a snarl. Then, after several moments of staring, he slowly turned his head and pinned her with his gaze.

All the breath was knocked out of Lilly's lungs at the sight of _Her Wolf_ standing there, his head held high and his russet brown fur damp with the rain. She almost expected to wake up from another dream, but the dull ache in her tailbone from falling told her she was very much awake.

The wolf turned and trotted between a few trees and bushes, leaving Lilly's sight. She was almost scared he was leaving her alone in the woods, but at the same time she remembered being told that when they phased their clothes didn't change with them. He was probably phasing back.

Her suspicions were confirmed when Jake approached her from the same spot, wearing only a pair of worn cutoffs.

Lilly sighed in relief, her muddy, cold hands coming up to wrap around herself. Jake seemed to be looking her over as he came to crouch down in front of her.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked gently. There were droplets of rain and mud on his skin and his cropped, black hair was wet.

She nodded quickly, not wanting the pack to be any more worried about her than they already were.

Jake eyed her doubtfully. "Lilly." he warned, making her look down. She saw his hand move and his knuckle brushed carefully down her bruised right cheek. "You were mere inches from a vampire, no one would expect you to be okay after that. But I guess we can worry about that aspect another time. He didn't hurt or anything, did he?"

She shook her head, looking up at him from under her lashes. He sighed in relief, nodding slowly.

"Good." she watched him as he turned his head in the direction the pack had chased the vampire, watching the trees thoughtfully.

After several moments of hesitation, she leaned forward so she could pull her notepad from her back pocket, cringing when she realized her butt was wet and muddy from sitting on the forest floor, and the notepad was damp, too. Jake looked down at her as she started writing.

After a quick sentence, she turned it so he could read it. _'Why are you different?'_

Jake blinked, his eyes narrowed in confusion. "Um, apart from turning into a giant wolf to fight vampires, I'm not sure what you mean." he admitted, looking back at her face.

She sighed, turning the notepad back to add on. _'You're different from the rest of the pack. I used to think you hated me, but for some reason I believe you when you promise something, and I feel safe when you're around. Why?'_

Jake read her explanation and sighed, knowing now was as good a time as any to explain. He turned around and sat against the tree trunk next to her.

"Yeah," he sighed, "there's a reason for that."

Lilly stared expectantly at his profile, watching as his eyes lifted to the treetops.

"I'm not completely sure how to explain this." he admitted quietly after several moments of thinking.

Lilly remained silent, not writing anything down because she knew he needed a moment to think his words through.

"Um,…have you ever heard the Third Wife story?" Jake finally asked, looking over at her curiously.

Lilly nodded, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"So, you know how it goes?"

Again, she nodded.

"Alright, well, do you remember how important Taha Aki's third wife was to him? He had two wives during the approximate 200 years he was alive, and he moved on with his life, for the most part, after they died of old age. But when he met and married the Third Wife he stopped phasing so he could grow old and die with her, and when she sacrificed herself and died, he couldn't live on without her. Did you ever wonder why she was so much more important to him than the other two?"

Lilly nodded slowly, because she had, multiple times in her life, wondered why Taha Aki loved the Third Wife more than his first two.

"Well, when we phase we gain the ability to imprint." Jake started slowly.

Lilly tilted her head, confused. She quickly scribbled a question out on her notepad and held it out to him. _'Like what baby animals do?'_

Jake looked at the question in bewilderment. "Um, baby animals? Uh, I'm not sure if it's the same thing because I had no idea baby animals did that." he announced awkwardly, making Lilly suppress a laugh.

 _'Like when ducklings first hatch they imprint on the first thing they see, so they think it's their mother and follow it around.'_

Jake read her next explanation over, a small, amused smiling tugging at his lips and revealing a tiny dimple on one side. He looked up at her after a few moments.

"Well, I suppose it's kind of similar, minus the whole 'mother' thing. When we imprint it's like…the girl he imprints on becomes the most important thing in his life. It feels like gravity moves, and every other connection in his life isn't as important anymore compared to her. All that really matters is being whatever she needs. Whether she needs a friend, brother, lover…but no matter what he'll always be there to protect her."

Silence fell between them for a little bit, Jake not knowing if he should keep talking and Lilly trying to understand why he was telling her this.

"Do you have any questions about it?" he finally asked gently, looking over at her.

She chewed her lip thoughtfully. She had many questions, she just wasn't sure which to ask first. Finally, she wrote down, _'Will everyone imprint?'_

"Probably not, it's supposed to be rare, though we're starting to question that since a few of us have already imprinted, the most recent two happened within a couple weeks of each other." Jake answered, glancing down at his muddy feet.

 _'Who's imprinted so far?'_ she wrote out and showed him.

Jake sucked in a deep breath, as if he didn't completely want to answer this question.

"Well, Sam imprinted first on Emily. Jared imprinted on Kim a few weeks back. And um,…I imprinted…"

Lilly bit her lip, looking down. He imprinted on Bella. Of course, it made complete sense. But why did he need to tell Lilly that? And why did the rest of the pack seem to hate Bella? Sure, she wasn't a pleasant person to be around, and she's hurt Jake and caused problems with the Cullens sticking around, but surely the pack would try to like her if she was Jake's imprint? Unless they hated her _because_ she's Jake imprint and abandoned him, that would make sense. Because it would probably be extremely painful for a wolf if their imprint rejected them and chose someone else, especially the pack's natural enemy. And that would explain Jake's obsession with the pale faced vamp tramp.

"Lilly?"

Her head snapped up to see Jake looking at her worriedly. "Did you hear what I just said?"

Lilly racked her brain and tried to remember, but she couldn't remember hearing anything past Jake saying he imprinted. Ducking her head sheepishly, she shook her head.

Jake smirked a tiny bit. "I couldn't tell if you were upset with me or hadn't heard. What were you thinking about so deeply you couldn't even hear me?" he asked, partially teasing.

Lilly blushed, looking down. Finally she shrugged, hoping he'd just forget it and go back to what he'd been telling her.

"You want me to repeat it?" she nodded, "And you're going to listen this time?" he teased. Lilly glared at him, sticking her tongue out.

Jake laughed, shaking his head before sobering up, looking worried again. "Well, um, I don't know when you stopped listening, but I told you that Sam and Jared both imprinted…and then a couple weeks after Jared, I imprinted…on you."

Lilly's mouth fell open, completely taken off guard.

After several moments of no response other than that, Jake couldn't seem to take the silence anymore. "Well? Are you going to say something? Or, um, write something? Are you mad?"

Finally, Lilly forced her mouth shut and looked down at her notepad, trying to think of someway to respond. Finally, she wrote out a single word.

 _'When?'_

Jake read it and answered, "You remember that day you and Embry were sent to the Principal's office and we ran into each other?" she nodded. "That was it. I looked into your eyes and…wham. Just like that."

Lilly looked down at her lap. She remembered that moment. And she specifically remembered the emotions in Jake's eyes. He'd been shocked, which made sense, but then she saw fear and anger in his eyes. Angry that he imprinted on her.

"Lilly?" a large hand rested on her wrist, his calluses rough on her soft skin, but it felt good, too. "Are you upset about it?" Jake asked quietly. Lilly felt a cold stab of fear in her chest, but she got the sense it wasn't hers. Maybe the imprint made it possible for them to feel each other's emotions?

Her hand was shaking as she wrote in her notepad. _'You were upset when you imprinted on me.'_

Jake sucked in a sharp breath when he read the sentence over her hand. Sentence, not question.

He sighed heavily. "Lilly,…I was in a really tough place that day. It doesn't excuse how I treated you after it happened, but…I was in a lot of pain."

Lilly bit her lip, glancing up at him. He was looking down at the ground, his eyes thoughtful and sad. She debated with herself for a moment before she rested her pencil atop the notepad and reached over, taking his hand in hers and threading their fingers together. She kept her eyes fixed on their hands, not looking up at him even though she could feel his eyes burning into her face.

She tried to think of some response. Something she could say to make him feel better, or to at least make this less awkward.

 _"All that really matters is being whatever she needs. Whether she needs a friend, brother, lover…but no matter what he'll always be there to protect her."_ Jake's words floated through her mind. He was already her protector, both in the real world as well as her dreams. Just because Sam and Emily, and Jared and Kim became couples didn't mean Jake and Lilly were required to be a couple.

 _'Should we just be friends?'_ Lilly finally wrote out, showing it to Jake.

Jake read it over, and seemed relieved. He lifted his eyes to smile at her. "Yeah, friends is good. Is that really what you want?"

Lilly nodded with a small smile. It really was what she wanted. Jake was a really great person, lots of fun to be around when he was smiling and in a good mood. He was a great friend. And it would make her feel less guilty about him not having any say in their…relationship.

 _'And you'll always protect me?'_ she wrote out, showing him hesitantly.

Jake read it over, and his eyes softened. He smiled gently at her and nodded. "Yeah. I promise I'll always be there to protect you, Lilly."

She smiled, looking down shyly.

"And, um…okay, how do I bring this up?" Jake leaned his head back against the tree trunk, looking up thoughtfully. Lilly turned to him in confusion. "Okay, a couple weeks ago, the first day Jared and Kim came to sit with you for lunch, you showed Jared a drawing you were working on."

Lilly sucked in a sharp breath, not wanting this topic brought up.

"He called a pack and council meeting after school and told us about it…Before you get mad, he did that for a reason. You told him…the wolf you drew had started appearing in your dreams…protecting you from something. Right?" he looked over at her and didn't continue until she hesitantly nodded.

"That wolf started appearing in your dreams after I imprinted on you…And I assume you noticed that it looks just like me…that it _is_ me."

Again, Lilly nodded slowly.

"Don't you think that might…mean something?" he asked nervously.

Lilly looked down at her lap and shrugged.

"Well,…I think it does." she looked up at him from under her lashes, seeing him watching her. "You said before that your nightmares are about your parents' death…I assume you mean vampires are involved." again, she nodded, letting her eyes drop, "So,…in your dreams, my wolf protects you from vampires… _I_ protect you."

Lilly nodded again, a small smile appearing on her lips.

Jake leaned closer to her and grabbed her hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I promise you, Lilly…I will do whatever it takes to protect you. Okay?"

Lilly looked up and met his eyes. She could see the familiar serious, protective gleam that was always in Her Wolf's eyes in her dreams. She smiled at him and nodded.

Jake grinned at her, his bright smile making her feel warm and happy.

Then, he seemed to remember that they were sitting out in the woods, sitting in the mud and getting drizzled on.

He practically hopped to his feet, offering Lilly a hand. She took it and he gently helped her off the ground. As she was slipping her notepad and pencil into the side pocket of her backpack, he asked, "You want me to take you home or to Emily's house? I can guarantee you that at least half the pack are worried sick about you. When Seth mentioned smelling you _with_ the leech, most of us freaked out. So, wanna come back to Emily's for a bit? I know the girls will be worried about you, too."

Lilly thought for a moment. On one hand she didn't want to deal with Bella,…but she also wanted to show the guys that she was okay. She didn't want them to worry about her. Finally, she nodded in agreement.

Jake grinned. "Great. Hop on." he turned his back to her and crouched down, the universal signal for a piggyback ride.

Lilly jumped on, wrapping her arms carefully around his neck so she didn't choke him while his arms looped under her knees. She had a sneaking suspicion that he wanted to carry her for multiple reasons: one, it would be faster; two, he'd keep her warm with his body heat; and three,…maybe she was wrong, but deep down it felt like he wanted to keep her close after the vampire scare. Like an imprint thing, his wolf wanted to ensure that she was safe with him. But she was probably stretching that last one.

It wasn't long before the pair were breaking through the trees and crossing Emily's backyard. Before they were even halfway toward the back porch, the pack came barreling out the door.

Embry, Jared, Paul, Seth, and Quil raced toward the pair, bombarding them with questions and talking over each other.

"What took you so long?"

"What were you thinking, going out in the woods?"

"Did the leech touch you?"

"QUIET!" Jake shouted over them, causing them to shut up instantly. He looked over his shoulder at Lilly, wondering if she was uncomfortable with the whole pack shirtless and surrounding them, but she was just chilling on his back, her hands linked under his chin and her cheek rested on his shoulder.

He turned back to the pack, all of whom were waiting anxiously for some answers. "She's not hurt, the leech didn't hurt her, she's just wet and muddy, so can we get her inside before she gets sick?" he answered and asked quickly, pushing through the pack toward the house. Embry and Quil, like they always had, walked at Jake's flanks and Embry met Lilly's eyes, earning a tired smile from the girl.

As soon as they entered the house, Lilly sighed at the warm air hitting her in the face.

"Lilly!" two voices shouted as Kim and Emily rushed forward. Jake carefully let Lilly slide down his back, making sure her feet were steady on the floor before he moved his hands away. Emily fussed over Lilly, checking her for bumps and bruises while Kim flitted around and peaked over her shoulder.

Jake stayed near them, his keen eyes watching Lilly's every movement. With the scent of the Cold One still vaguely on her skin, his wolf was too antsy to be too far from her. It was too close for comfort, for the wolf or the man.

"Jake?" a small, cool hand rested on his forearm as the scent of strawberries wafted to his nose.

Jake looked down and gave Bella a tight-lipped smile.

"No one will tell me what's going on. It was Victoria again, wasn't it?" she asked anxiously.

Jake shook his head, keeping half his attention on Lilly, who was following the other girls into the kitchen for something warm to eat and drink.

"Nah, Bells. It was some random nomad. Blonde male, I think. Wasn't the redhead." he answered shortly.

"Alright then,…well, I really need to head home now, Jake. Edward's been worried about me, and I'd like to leave."

Jake glanced into the kitchen, seeing Emily hand a steaming mug to Lilly, who was sitting at the table. Her jeans had patches of mud and grass stains, but it looked like her hands were now clean. And it wasn't too noticeable, but her burn scar on her left hand was a tiny bit bluish-purple in color, showing she was a bit cold.

"Well,…Bells, I don't know if I can leave yet." he answered uncertainly, his eyes flicking back down to her.

Her brow furrowed, but he couldn't put his finger on her expression. Maybe a bit of confusion with something else.

"But…I need to get home, Jake." she stated like it was the most important thing in the world.

"Hey, vamp tramp," Paul called from where he was leaning against the far wall in the kitchen, "in case you didn't notice, one of our own had a close call with a leech and we're all a bit edgy because of it. Our wolves are so wound up, leaving would probably be a bad idea. It's called being a pack, a family. We need to be near each other until we're calmed down, until our wolves are reassured everyone's fine."

Several of the pack looked down or away, and Jared and Sam stepped closer to their imprints. They all knew he was telling the truth, but they were all surprised it was _Paul_ of all people to announce it.

Bella looked frustrated, and like she was trying to keep her temper in check. Last time she snapped at Paul hadn't completely worked in her favor.

"But she's obviously fine, she's not hurt." Bella pointed out, waving her hand in Lilly's direction. Lilly looked down at her mug in her hands, looking uncomfortable at being the topic of discussion. "Surely you don't need the entire pack here to baby-sit her."

"Bella, stop." Jake stated firmly, staring her down.

"Jake, I need to get home, and you're my ride." Bella insisted.

"But Jake taught you to ride the motorcycles, couldn't you get yourself home?" Embry suggested quietly with a glance at Jake, not wanting to be rude even though Bella was getting on everyone's nerves.

"I can't ride it home, Charlie would have a fit." Bella pointed out, barely sparing Embry a glance before her attention was back on Jake. "You said you were barely even her friend. And you told me we'd still be us, that she wouldn't change anything."

Several growls sounded from around the room and Jake fought his own snarl in his chest.

Stepping past Bella, he entered the kitchen and approached Lilly's seat. He rested one hand on the back of her chair, his other on the tabletop in front of her so his body curved over hers. She peaked up at him, barely turning her head to see him.

"Are you okay here with the pack? If you want me to stay, I will, but if I go I shouldn't be more than fifteen minutes. It's your call, Lilly." he whispered near her ear, knowing only her and the pack would be able to hear him.

She bit her lip thoughtfully, and Jake's eyes barely flicked down at the action before they returned to Lilly's eyes.

Finally, she turned and gave him a reassuring smile and nodding toward the door. He could tell by the look in her eye that she didn't really want him to go, and he didn't want to go, either, but Bella was right, he was her ride.

Jake smiled gently at Lilly. Ignoring the smirks his brothers were giving them, he quickly kissed the top of her head before leading Bella out the door.

 **XXX**

 **I was debating whether to update this today or tomorrow for New Years, but I figured 'why not?'.**

 **So, I wish you all a Happy New Year and I hope you all liked this chapter.**

 **(P.S. Can anyone guess who the vampire was? It should be fairly obvious, but you never know.)**


	14. Chapter 14

Lilly entered her house after school Monday afternoon, being greeted enthusiastically by Dash, who jumped up at her legs. She smiled, scratching the top of his head before dropping her bag and hurrying to the back door to let him out. He zoomed out the door through her legs and found a spot in the middle of the yard, spinning in a quick circle before relieving himself. He then moved over a few feet and squatted for number 2, kicking up the dirt behind him when he finished, and trotted back inside.

With her dog taken care of, Lilly moved into the kitchen to grab an after-school snack to eat while doing her homework. Scanning the fridge, she found a Granny Smith apple. She took a bite as the fridge door shut behind her, moving her phone from her pocket to the kitchen table. As she passed the table to go back to her bag, her eyes fell on the newspaper her Gran had left open on the table.

Lilly's eyes were easily drawn to the black and white photo on one of the pages.

Her eyes flashed in panic, recognizing the man in the photo. Her memory flashed back and forth between last week and the current moment, remembering those same eyes being dark red, almost black as they stared down at her, thirsty for her blood. The twisted smirk as he crouched over her.

Her body flew back, crashing into the kitchen counter behind her, her partially eaten apple hitting the tile floor with a dull thump. Her body was shaking with terror and fear and she fumbled to grab her phone off the table without getting too close to the paper, as if it may jump up and bite her.

Her fingers fumbled through her contacts until she found Jake's name and as soon as a message box opened her fingers flew over the keypad to type out, _'I need you'_ , and she hit send.

As soon as the message was sent, her phone fell from her trembling hands and hit the floor while her body slid down the cabinet until she was sitting with her knees up.

She wasn't sure how long she sat there, her chest heaving with every breath and her body trembling in fear as the run-in with the vampire continued to replay through her mind. She'd never thought she'd have more than one near-death experience involving a Cold One.

Suddenly, her front door slammed open and her head snapped up, the sound causing Dash to bark. Fear bubbled up in Lilly's chest. However, her fear that it was the vampire coming to get her vanished when Jake hurried into the kitchen.

"Lilly?!" he demanded worriedly, hurrying to kneel down in front of her. "Lilly, what's wrong? What happened? Are you hurt?" he asked, one hand on her shoulder and one brushing her hair away from her face.

She forced her breathing to slow down, her eyes focusing on the fact that Jake, Her Wolf, was in the room with her. No vampire would hurt her if he was there.

"Lilly, please give me a sign here, what's going on?" Jake demanded insistently, his eyes scanning her face.

Finally, Lilly closed her eyes and forced herself to relax. Opening her eyes, she pointed up at the table where the paper was. Jake's eyes followed where she was pointing, and he stood up to look at the newspaper on the table.

"Um, the missing person?" he asked in confusion, looking back down at her. Her brows furrowed, unsure. She hadn't read anything, she just panicked when she saw the picture. Lifting her hand, she waited until Jake handed her the paper. Steeling herself, she looked down at the paper. She ignored the picture as best she could, but skimmed the article it went with.

Getting the gist of what it was, she handed it back to Jake, pointing at the article. He read it over quickly.

"Riley Biers. He's been missing from Seattle for over a year. What about him? Do you know him?" Jake asked, looking down at her in confusion.

Lilly scanned the floor around her until she found her phone. She quickly typed out, _'He's the vampire from last week'_.

She handed her phone to Jake.

Almost instantly, Jake's nostrils flared and his eyes flashed yellow like they did whenever his wolf was too close to the surface.

" _That guy_ is the leech that attacked you in the woods?!" Jake snarled, looking down at her.

She wanted to point out the vampire didn't _technically_ attack her, but she had the sneaking suspicion that wouldn't be too helpful. So, she simply nodded in answer.

A snarl bounced off the kitchen walls as Jake put her phone down on the table, his hand slamming down next to the newspaper.

It went quiet apart from Jake's labored breathing, his arms braced tensely on the table as he glared down at the picture. It was easy to see the tremors running down his spine.

Carefully, Lilly climbed to her feet, using the cabinet and counter behind her to stand. Then, she stepped forward, despite the multiple warnings from the pack and imprints to be cautious around an unstable wolf.

Her arms lifted hesitantly, not sure if Jake would be okay with this, and then her hands slipped around his middle in a gentle hug.

Jake's body immediately stilled at the touch, the shaking stopped. He didn't tear his eyes from the paper, but his muscles relaxed and one of his arms lifted over her head to wrap around her back in a hug, holding her close to his side. Lilly let her head rest against his shoulder, closing her eyes.

Jake swallowed thickly, his eyes glancing down at the small girl at his side before they returned to the picture in the newspaper. The pack obviously hadn't been focusing on trying to get a look at the leech's face the week before, but now that he had a face to go with the monster that nearly took his imprint, it filled him with even more of a desire to hunt it down. And with Lilly so close to him, his wolf had calmed down enough for his human side to come forward a bit, and it made him wonder.

If this guy had only gone missing a year ago, that was probably when he was changed. And he was only one of dozens of missing person reports, and they all started disappearing around the same time, what if they were all related?

Feeling the small body shift against his, Jake turned to look down at Lilly.

"I'm sorry." his whispered, holding her close. "I shouldn't have snapped. I'm under control, I promise. I didn't scare you, did I?"

Lilly shook her head, looking exhausted.

"Hey, why don't you go sit down in the living room?" he suggested gently, pulling away a bit, "I'm gonna give Sam a call to let him know what you found, okay?"

Lilly nodded, pulling away to head to the living room, dropping onto the couch. She could hear the low mutterings of Jake as he spoke with Sam on the phone, but she didn't have the interest or energy to pay attention to specific words. After a few minutes Jake joined her in the living room.

"Sam's going to call another meeting with the Elders later this evening to let them know about this new detail you discovered." Jake whispered gently as he sat next to her. Lilly immediately scooted closer and snuggled against his side, her head pressing against his chest under his collarbone. He wrapped his arm around her and held her close. "It's going to be okay, sweetie. The pack won't let anything like that happen to you ever again. Just please stay out of the woods, Lilly, okay?"

Lilly nodded instantly. There was no way she was setting foot in the woods ever again unless a wolf was with her. The thought of running into another vampire nearly made her go into another panic attack.

Though, the thought of Sam telling the Elders about this was almost as scary. Her Gran had freaked out and actually started beating Jake over the head with Old Quil's cane when she heard Lilly had a run-in with a Cold One last week, luckily she didn't cause any permanent brain damage. Lilly was worried all this vampire mess would give her Gran a premature heart attack.

Jake gently squeezed her upper arm in his big hand to get her attention. "Hey, why don't you take a quick nap? You look tired. I'll wake you up in a bit and maybe you could help me with that History homework we got?" he asked hopefully.

Lilly smiled in amusement, nodding her head as her heavy eyelids fell shut, her head rested against Jake's chest.

 **XXX**

 **It wasn't very eventful, but you got some JakeXLilly fluffiness! : D**

 **Also a quick note, I guess FF is experiencing some kind of glitch or something; I can see the number of total reviews for this story have gone up however I can't read or find them anywhere. It sounds like other people are having this same issue, and everyone thinks it should be fixed soon, I hope.**


	15. Chapter 15

After helping Emily set all the food up at the tables, Lilly joined Kim on one of the logs to watch most of the guys play soccer on the beach. Quil and Leah were helping the Elders get situated, Sam was working on starting the bonfire, and Jake had yet to arrive, but the rest of the guys were playing.

When Sam finally got the fire burning, the guys came in and started staring at the food like starving animals, but Emily refused to let anyone touch the food until everyone arrived.

Finally, after much nagging, and Jake being twenty minutes late, Emily gave in and allowed everyone to get their plates. The Elders went through first, then the imprints, and the pack last.

Lilly took her seat at an empty log and was soon joined by Paul. Jared and Kim sat at the log next to them. She glanced over toward the Elders to see her Gran sitting between Sue and Billy.

Lilly had already went through the line to get a smaller plateful for seconds, which most of the pack had already done, by the time she spotted two more people walking down the beach from the parking lot. Both were dressed in jeans and warm-looking sweatshirts, except one figure was over a foot taller and had darker skin and short, black hair that faded into the dark background while the other figure had long hair and skin that was so pale it almost glowed in the dark.

Lilly's hand tightened around her plate when she recognized Bella Swan walking alongside Jake. Swallowing her conflicting emotions, she continued on her path to sit down on her previously vacated seat next to Paul.

When the others noticed the new arrivals, Seth jumped up and bounded over to them, greeting Jake like an excited puppy. Lilly had to suppress an amused smile, imagining Seth as a small wolf with his little tail wagging. It was cute how he adored Jake and looked up to him so much.

Lilly took a large bite of her hotdog when a mild commotion made her look back over to see Jake put Seth in a headlock. She smiled around her mouthful of food, having to cover her mouth until she could swallow.

When the two finished goofing off, Seth hurried back to his seat next to Embry to protect the rest of his food while Jake lead Bella around the fire toward Lilly and Paul's log. Lilly looked up to smile at Jake, and her eyes accidentally found Bella's. They made eye contact for a split second before Lilly looked back down at her plate, eating one of her potato chips.

Jake squeezed Lilly's shoulder in a silent, quick greeting as he passed toward the food table and Lilly smiled down at her plate.

Paul's elbow bumped hers. "You're looking a bit flushed, there, Lil." he smirked at her.

She stuck her tongue out at him, ignoring the fact that her cheeks flamed up even more at his words.

A few minutes later, Jake and Bella returned to the log with their plates, and Lilly ignored the way Bella's steps faltered when she realized where they would be sitting.

"Shove off, Lahote." Jake ordered, taking the only empty seat on Lilly's opposite side. Paul flipped Jake the bird, but slid forward off the log anyway, allowing Lilly to scoot over into his seat, Jake to take hers, and leaving the other end open for Bella to take. Once Lilly was situated, Paul leaned his back against her legs.

"You doing okay?" Jake asked Lilly with a gentle smile. Lilly had noticed he'd been extra sweet lately, ever since her 'panic attack' over seeing Riley Biers' picture in the paper a few days earlier, and he frequently checked up on her.

She smiled reassuringly and nodded.

"Did I miss anything entertaining?"

Lilly smirked, nudging Paul's shoulder with her knee.

"Shut up." Paul grumbled, stuffing half of his tenth hotdog in his mouth.

Jared laughed from the log next to Lilly and looked over to explain to Jake. "Seth was trying some fancy footwork when we were playing soccer earlier," he paused to laugh, "and-and he accidentally kicked the ball right into Paul's nuts!"

Everyone around the fire burst out laughing, including Jake. Even a couple of the Elders were trying to stifle their chuckles. Paul merely glared around at them, continuing to eat his food.

After everyone settled down, Jake had turned to talk to Bella. Lilly examined her empty plate, glancing thoughtfully over at the food table. She was debating whether or not to get a little bit more. She felt like she could eat some more chips, and she hadn't grabbed any desert yet.

Coming to a decision, she pushed at Paul's shoulder a couple times. He leaned forward so she could stand up and step around him. She grabbed a handful of chips at the table as well as a couple cookies.

Jake smiled at her when she sat back down. But when she ate one chip Bella leaned over Jake to examine her plate.

"Is that your second plate?"

Lilly paused in chewing to glance at Jake.

"I think it's her third, right? I'm pretty sure I saw you getting your second when we got here?" Jake glanced at Bella before looking down at Lilly. She nodded with a tight smile.

"Your third plate? How can you eat so much? I can barely eat one." Bella asked in surprise. Lilly wasn't sure she liked Bella's tone or expression. It felt like she was judging her. But then looking around the fire, Lilly also noticed that most of the girls, apart from Leah, didn't even get seconds.

Suddenly feeling self-conscious and not as hungry, Lilly prodded Paul's trap muscle until he turned to look at her. She held her plate toward him and, like she expected, he took it without question to scarf it down.

With her hands free, Lilly crossed her arms over her lap, staring into the fire.

Jake's elbow bumped hers and she looked up at him. "You excited to hear the legends?" Lilly nodded with an excited smile, perking up a little bit at the thought of hearing the legends again. "Do you have a favorite?" Jake asked curiously, his easy smile and white teeth almost glowing against his tan skin.

She didn't even have to think about the answer, but she did have to think about how to portray the answer to him. She didn't want to dig her phone out. Finally, she held up three fingers.

Jake looked at her hand thoughtfully for a moment before his eyes glinted and he smiled. "The Third Wife?" he asked.

She nodded with a wide smile. Even before she heard about imprinting, the story of the Third Wife had always been her favorite.

But then Bella's voice cut through their conversation. "How can you tell what she means if she won't talk?"

Silence fell over the whole bonfire. Several people were staring at Bella in shock, some were glaring at her, and others were at least trying to pretend they weren't listening in. Jake turned to stare down at her in shock.

Lilly glared at Bella even as she struggled to swallow, embarrassed tears prickling at her eyes.

An awkward, tense silence stretched on for several moments, several people glancing among themselves uncomfortably, unsure if someone should speak to break the silence.

Finally, Billy cleared his throat and started speaking to Sue about some random topic, which started several people talking.

Lilly, however, couldn't bring herself to continue on as if nothing happened. She didn't know why, but Bella's words hurt. She knew as soon as she saw Bella arrive with Jake that she would start something. Lilly had been trying to be nice, but Bella seemed to be making that impossible.

Feeling tears pricking her eyes again, Lilly carefully stood up and moved around Paul. She could feel several eyes burning into her as she pulled her phone from her sweatshirt pocket. She typed out a quick message saying she was going for a quick walk, showed it to Kim at her spot curled up with Jared, and then continued in the same direction down the beach.

When Lilly began walking away, Kim turned to give Jake a pointed look. Jake's worried eyes flicked from Kim to his imprint, where her back was slowly darkening as she left the light of the fire.

He glanced at Abby, seeing her worried eyes, before he stood up and hurried down the beach after Lilly.

"Lilly." he spoke quietly as he neared her, his long stride catching up with her easily. He reached out and gently grabbed her forearm, sliding his hand down to grip her wrist as she slowed down. They continued walking, Jake's eyes fixed on her face.

"Lilly, I'm sorry about that. I swear, I told Bella before we got here to be nice. I don't know what's gotten into her lately." Jake swore quietly, giving them as much privacy as he could. They were far enough away that the pack wouldn't hear them if he whispered very quietly, but talking just below a normal level could be caught by their keen ears.

Lilly just shrugged in response, looking down at the sand as she continued to walk. Bella was her own person, Jake shouldn't have to apologize for her actions. She wasn't his responsibility.

"Lilly,…are you okay?" Jake asked gently, letting his hand slide from her wrist to her hand, their fingers instinctively threading together.

Lilly nodded in answer, not completely lying. She shouldn't be letting Bella get to her.

"Lilly." Jake tugged her to a stop, turning her so they were standing face-to-face. "Please,…let me in. I can tell you're still upset. Give me something that I can do to help you." he begged, holding both of her hands.

Lilly's bottom lip trembled, and her eyes moved up to his face, revealing the wet, glistening brown and green eyes.

Jake sucked in a breath, quickly pulling Lilly into his chest. She trembled and her back twitched beneath his arms as she suppressed her cries. Jake pressed his face into the top of her head, just holding her and gently rocking her back and forth. He didn't know what else to do for her.

After a few minutes, Lilly slowly stopped shaking. Taking a deep breath for composure, she slowly pulled away from him, looking down in embarrassment as she wiped her cheeks with her fingers.

Jake smiled gently, lifting a hand to wipe a few tears she missed. She gave him a shy smile from under her lashes before reaching into her sweatshirt pocket and pulling her phone out.

 _'Thanks. You're a good friend. Both to me and to Bella even though she doesn't seem to appreciate you.'_

Jake smiled sadly, shrugging his shoulders. "Yeah, well…thanks." he finally said, unable to come up with anything else. He debated for a few moments, his eyes staring at Lilly's face. She stared right back, sensing he wanted to say something. "What about…as more than a friend?"

Lilly stared up at him in confusion, unsure if he was talking about Bella. He wasn't still trying to get with her, was he? She did have a boyfriend after all.

Seeing her expression, Jake looked down at the sand, shuffling his feet nervously. "I mean,…what if I…like you as more than a friend?"

Lilly's breath caught in her throat as she stared up at him, wide-eyed.

Jake finally dragged his eyes from the sand to her face. "I'm serious, Lilly. I really do like you as more than a friend."

Lilly shook her head, typing on her phone. _'That's just the imprint talking'_.

Jake shook his head. "No, it's not. Yeah, the imprint sort of…gave me a push. I probably wouldn't have looked twice at you without it 'cause my head was so far up Bella's a-um, butt." Lilly smirked at Jake's fumble, "But it was spending time with you and getting to know you that made me like you, just like any other relationship. You accept who I am, and what I am. You _like_ my wolf. You were never scared of us because you knew that we protect people. And you don't just want to hang out with me, you're friends with the pack, with my brothers. I don't have to try and split my time between them and you, like I do with Bella."

Jake paused, looking thoughtfully out across the dark ocean, and Lilly stared up at him, noting how the moonlight made his russet skin glow.

"When I was younger,…and when Bella first moved back here last year, I had this huge…obsession with her. I think it was partially because she was different from all the other girls around here. All the girls I grew up around had the same tan skin and black hair. But she was different. I guess,…okay, I'm gonna try to explain this with an analogy, so just bear with me and don't laugh at me." Jake finally decided, looking thoughtfully at anywhere that wasn't Lilly's face.

"Bella's sort of…like a rose. And you're…a lily. Bella stands out among everyone else. She catches people's attention. She's beautiful in an…exotic type of way, at least for people down here who only ever see native girls. But you…you fit in. You…belong in this environment. You don't stand out, people don't gawk at you. You're beautiful in a…simple, natural, non-flashy way. It's just there, and sometimes people don't notice it unless they really look." Jake paused to finally look at Lilly's face. She was shyly looking up at him from under her lashes, biting her bottom lip and fighting a smile.

"I kept trying to be with Bella…but I just kept getting stabbed by her thorns every time." Jake whispered, taking a step closer and taking Lilly's hands in his own. "But,…I feel like I don't have to worry about that with you. I know that I can trust you. And I want you to feel like you can trust me, too. I'm not going to go running back to Bella. I'm still her friend, but I don't see her as anything more than that. I have no more romantic feelings for her, I promise. Lately, it's felt like I had to force myself to see her romantically. I had to keep reminding myself why I liked her in the first place. And I'm finally realizing it's because I don't have those feelings anymore. I want you to trust me as more than just your protector, more than just your wolf. So…would you, maybe…want to go out on a date sometime?" he asked hopefully, his expression reminding Lilly of a sad, hungry puppy.

She couldn't even stop herself from smiling as she looked up at him. Everything he just said, while cheesy and dorky, was adorably romantic. So, she nodded.

Jake's smile was brighter than the moon above, stretching almost all across his face. Leaning down, he swiftly pecked her cheek, making her blush even more. She was thankful that her tan skin combined with the dark was probably hiding it, though.

Releasing only one of her hands, Jake lead her back to the bonfire with their fingers threaded together.

Lilly tried to ignore the multiple expressions around the fire as they approached.

Paul, Embry, and Quil were openly smirking at them, while Sam and Jared were being a bit discreet about it, Sam even hiding his face in Emily's hair. Emily and Seth were beaming at them. Even Billy and Kim were smirking! Sue and Abby were talking among themselves, but Lilly could see they were glancing at the pair with smiles. Old Quil was talking to Billy, and Leah was staring blankly into the fire. The only person who was paying attention and didn't seem happy…was Bella.

She was glaring at the fire, but it was easy to see that she was glancing at Jake and Lilly every few seconds. And Lilly could guess that her hands were tightly balled into fists in her sweatshirt pockets.

Lilly couldn't even bring herself to waste her time or energy caring about what Bella thought.

Billy quieted everyone down just as Jake and Lilly reclaimed their seats. Finally, he began telling the legends.

Lilly listened with rapt attention to every single legend. As the night wore on, it seemed like Jake's arm had a pull of gravity, because Lilly soon found her head rested on his shoulder. He didn't seem to care, so she didn't bother moving. Soon, Billy was telling the story of the Third Wife, talking of her sacrifice and bravery. Lilly couldn't help it when her eyes drifted up, watching Jake's profile, her eyes tracing his brow, nose, and jaw line.

Jake could feel eyes watching him through most of the Third Wife legend. Finally, he couldn't take the pull to make eye contact. He turned his head and looked down at Lilly, catching her eyes with his. He heard her heart stutter and smiled gently down at her, earning a smile in return.

He reached his hand toward her lap and grasped both her tiny hands in his, warming the cool skin instantly with his heat. With that, he turned back to watch his dad tell the legends, loving the feel of Lilly's whole side rested against his. Even though he'd been fighting the imprint since it happened, he could easily get used to this.

 **XXX**

 **Tada! Jake finally got his head out of his $$! Yay!**

 **There's still a few more chapters before we get to the actual date, with lots of ups and downs as we go, but we're making progress!**

 **Hint of a teaser, if you hate Bella you're really going to hate her in the next chapter, but there'll be lots of JakeXLilly cuteness to make up for it ;)**

 **Lastly, I'm not sure if anyone noticed, but FF was having some kind of glitch with some peoples' reviews, meaning I couldn't see any new reviews for a few days, but it looks like it's working again, so YAY!**


	16. Chapter 16

Sunday, a couple days after the bonfire, found Jake and Bella hanging out at first beach after Edward dropped her off at the Treaty line. Apparently, after the bonfire Edward realized he'd been too overprotective and had agreed to "allow" Bella to come down to the rez to hang out with Jake more. Jake had been hesitant at first, since something about it felt wrong, but he also promised Bella that nothing would change, that they'd still be friends. He couldn't ditch her for a girl, no matter how important Lilly was, and despite the fact that Bella had done exactly that since Edward came back.

"So, excited for graduation?" Jake asked as they walked down the beach.

"I guess. More excited for everything that comes after it, though." Bella smiled.

Jake nodded and decided not to ask. He didn't want to think about what Bella would be doing after graduation, especially if it involved the Cullens. "When's your last day of school?"

"This Thursday. Friday's Graduation and my Graduation party, which you're invited to." Bella answered, looking over at him hopefully.

"You sure your _boyfriend_ will allow that?" Jake asked wryly.

"It's just as much my party as it is his, and I can invite who I want. When's your last day?"

"Our last day isn't for another few weeks, but our seniors' last day is a couple weeks after yours."

Bella nodded silently as the two walked for a little bit longer. Finally, she broke the silence with a quiet voice. "So,…what did you and that girl talk about at the bonfire? You were gone for a while."

Jake clenched his jaw for a second before forcing himself to relax. "She's got a name, Bella. And if you must know, I had to apologize to _Lilly_ on your behalf for what you said that night."

Bella stared searchingly up at him, not looking the least bit remorseful or embarrassed. "That's all? It took you ten minutes to apologize for some comment?" she asked doubtfully.

Jake stared down at his feet as he walked, his hands shoved into his jean pockets. "I don't see how it's your business, Bells," he started as gently as possible, "but I also asked her out on a date." he didn't add on to that, but the day before, him and Lilly agreed to have the date this coming Saturday, in six days. Not that he was counting down or anything.

"What?! Why?" Bella demanded, stopping and grabbing Jake's arm to make him stop beside her.

He frowned down at her, mildly confused about why it was a big deal. "Um,…because I wanted to." he answered slowly, as if he were talking to a child.

"But why? You said you only saw her as a friend! Friends don't go out on dates!" Bella exclaimed in protest.

Jake took a deep breath, not realizing he was drawing himself up a bit higher in the process.

"Relationships and feelings can change, Bella. When I told you I only saw her as a friend I meant it at the time, but lots of things have happened and changed since then. I can't keep fighting how I feel, Bella. And I can't keep hurting myself and Lilly trying to fight for something that I know will never happen. I like her, I care about her,…and I want to try and be with her."

"But that wasn't even two weeks ago!" Bella shouted, her hands clenched in fists at her side, "How can your feelings change so drastically like that?! Don't you see what's happening?! It's that imprint voodoo! It's making you think you want to be with her when you don't! What you feel for her isn't real! What you feel for me, that's real! You said you love me! But her…it's not real! You don't get a choice!"

"Bella, just stop!" Jake barely kept from shouting, but his voice was still firm as he glared down at her. "It's not forced. You don't understand what it's like. She didn't force me into a relationship, I'm the one who wanted to ask her. She even said I didn't have to do it if I didn't want to, but I do! I want to try and be happy, and something tells me that with her, I can be. I know I can trust her and love her."

"She didn't _say_ anything." Bella grumbled under her breath, glaring at the ground. "She's not good enough for you, Jake." Bella continued louder, looking back up at him, "She can't even talk to you! You deserve someone better! You're so blinded by the imprint you can't even see that you've had your choice taken away from you!"

"Bella-"

"No!" she cut him off loudly. "If you won't do it yourself, if you won't give yourself a choice, then I'll do it for you! I'll give you a choice!"

Before Jake could fully register her words, Bella lurched up and grabbed the back of his head in her hands, slamming her lips onto his.

XXX

Lilly threw a few more chocolate chips into the cookie dough when Emily wasn't looking, smirking at Kim when she laughed. Emily didn't even seem to notice the extra chips when she turned back to the bowl to begin stirring it.

The three girls had just finished cleaning up after lunch and decided to make some cookies for a change. Emily normally made muffins since they were quick and easy, but Kim and Lilly persuaded her by offering to help.

Only a few members of the pack were around. Sam and Paul were watching a game in the living room, Jared and Embry were on patrol, Lilly didn't know where Leah was, and Seth and Quil were in the backyard with Claire Young.

Claire, Emily's fourteen year old niece, had come to visit for the weekend and Quil had imprinted on her Saturday morning. Obviously, Sam and Emily did not take it well, and it was a bit awkward that Claire was a couple years younger, but Quil didn't feel any romantic feelings for her yet. He just thought she was pretty cool to hang out with. Apparently, they had similar taste in video games, sports, music, and movies. She wasn't a complete tomboy, but she had her moments.

The only other pack member who wasn't around was Jake, and Lilly was trying not to think about where he was. Just because they were going on a date soon didn't mean they were in a relationship, and she didn't want anyone to think she was a possessive girlfriend or anything.

She was just struggling with the fact that Jake was currently hanging out with Bella. They were best friends and Jake had already told Lilly that he had no romantic feelings for Bella anymore. But that didn't mean she had to like it.

"Lilly? Could you please get a cookie sheet from the cabinet down there?" Emily asked politely, nodding toward one of the lower cabinets under the counter.

Lilly nodded with a smile. Just as she stood up, however, she felt a sharp, stabbing pain in her chest.

Lilly gasped, clutching at her chest and falling to the ground on her knees. A few voices echoed in her ears as people around her shouted things she couldn't understand. All she could understand was the pain in her chest, like a blade had stabbed into her heart and lungs. She couldn't breathe, all she felt was sharp, burning agony like nothing she'd ever felt before.

And then it was gone.

Lilly sat there, gasping as the pain just vanished, the only evidence it had been there was the dull ache in her chest, like a shadow of the pain. She didn't completely realize that she was laying on the floor, her stomach, chest and cheek pressed to the cold, wood flooring. She couldn't really feel people standing over her, someone shaking her shoulder, someone brushing her hair from her face. She just laid there, trying to collect her thoughts about what just happened.

The only thing she could think about, though…was Jake.

Somewhere deep inside her, Lilly knew it was Jake. She just didn't know what it was. Either he did something or something happened to him to cause the imprint to lash out.

But what?

XXX

It took Jake less than a second to realize what was happening and shove Bella off, but the damage had been done. He wasn't sure what, but he could feel it in his soul that something happened. Something was wrong with Lilly. She was hurt. And it was because of what just happened.

Not caring, or even realizing for that matter, that he'd shoved Bella so hard she landed on her butt in the sand, Jake turned and raced toward Emily's as fast as he could.

He didn't care about the branches snapping his arms and face as he raced through the forest. His vision was tunneled, focusing only on the path in front of him. After only a few minutes, Emily's house came into view. He ignored the sounds of the TV and his pack talking over each other, all he focused on was the erratic heartbeat that he knew was his imprint's.

He pounded up the porch steps and slammed the door open. The pack saw him and quickly backed away from what they were crouching over.

Jake's heart stuttered at the sight of Lilly laying curled up on the kitchen floor, her eyes staring blankly ahead of her.

"Lilly." her name left his lips in a breath as he slowly approached her. He crouched down next to her and reached a hand out, letting it hover over her shoulder.

Lilly's eyes cleared and flicked around a bit before they lifted to look up at him. They were filled with fear, pain, and worry.

Jake swallowed the lump in his throat as he gently let his hand rest on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I swear, I-it wasn't me. I swear it."

She continued to stare up at him, the fear and pain diminishing just a bit in her brown eyes.

Jake swallowed again before peaking over his shoulder at the pack members and imprints staring at him. "I need to talk to Lilly alone."

Most of them nodded slowly, though he could tell a few of them were anxious about leaving him alone with her.

Turning back to the girl on the floor, he whispered, "I'm going to help you up, okay?"

She nodded slowly, trying to help him as he slipped his other hand under her shoulder to slowly sit her up. Once she was sitting, he took both of her hands and gently pulled her to her feet. Seeing that she was still shaky, Jake kept an arm around her waist and steered her out onto the porch, sitting her down on the porch swing Sam had built recently for Emily.

With her seated, Jake knelt down on the floor in front of her, holding both her hands between his own on her lap as he looked up at her, their eyes almost even.

"Lilly,…I don't even know where to start." he finally whispered.

She simply tilted her head a bit, waiting patiently for him to collect his thoughts.

Jake looked down at their hands, noting how her skin was just a shade or two lighter than his as he sucked in a deep breath.

"I was at the beach with Bella, which I already told you about." he started slowly, too afraid to look up at her, "We were talking about random stuff…and then we started talking about you, because she asked what we'd been talking about at the bonfire. I told her that I asked you out on a date, and she got upset. She started yelling and ranting about stuff that I'm not going to repeat…" Jake trailed off to suppress the growl rumbling in his chest.

"But anyway,…she kissed me." he finally blurted out, not wanting to dance around it anymore. He risked a glance up at Lilly to find that she was staring down at him, her eyebrows practically in her hairline and her eyes wide. "I swear to you, Lilly, as soon as she did it I shoved her off me. Hell, I think I even pushed her to the ground, but I'm not sure. I just shoved her off and then I knew something was wrong with you. And I know I caused this. I'm so, _so_ sorry Lilly. I would never cheat on you, I promise. Please, you've got to believe me." he pleaded in a thick voice, and to Lilly's surprise, his eyes were actually watering.

She licked her lips hesitantly before pulling her cell phone from her pocket. Jake watched anxiously as she typed away for a little bit before she showed him her phone screen.

 _'I knew it was the imprint, I just didn't know if you did something or you were hurt. And I believe you. I probably shouldn't but I can feel it through the imprint that you're telling the truth. I'm not mad at you, if Bella's the one who did it there's nothing to forgive.'_

Jake's body sagged in relief. "Thank you." he breathed, looking back up at her. He couldn't fight the pull anymore, he needed some kind of contact to calm his wolf, who had been antsy and agitated since the second Bella started badmouthing his imprint. Leaning up, he wrapped his arms around her back and shoulder blades and hugged her tightly to him. He could feel her cheek rest against his shoulder, her breath cool against his neck and her small arms wrapped around his neck and shoulders.

After several moments, Lilly pulled away and typed a quick phrase on her phone.

 _'But I should probably warn you, if you ever do hurt me I won't be so forgiving.'_ she warned him, raising one eyebrow pointedly at him.

Jake grinned. "Good thing I don't ever plan on doing that." he answered, "Now, how about we head inside? I can smell cookies baking in the oven." Jake suggested with a smile.

Lilly nodded with a grin, allowing Jake to pull her to her feet since he beat her to it. But as they neared the door, a thought occurred to her. She tugged on Jake's hand and waited until he stopped and looked down at her before she pulled her phone back out.

 _'Aren't you going back to Bella?'_

A quiet growl rumbled in Jake's chest as he read the question. "No, I'm not exactly happy with her at the moment."

Lilly's thumbs flew over her keypad as she typed out a response. _'But aren't you supposed to stay with her since the redhead is after her?'_

Jake snorted. "She should've thought of that before she kissed me and pissed me off."

Lilly fought a smile but typed out one more thing. _'Aren't you her ride?'_

Jake shrugged patiently. "Yeah, but she's got a cell phone and the border's not too far. Her bloodsucker can pick her up at the Treaty line."

Again, Lilly fought a smile as she finally followed Jake into the house, the delicious smell of cookies making her mouth water.

XXX

The first half of the week passed uneventfully. However, there were a few things Lilly noticed. The main thing was she felt like Jake was avoiding her outside of school. Multiple times in the past few days Jake either cancelled plans or just wasn't around. Whether he cancelled one of their tutoring sessions, or he didn't show up at Emily's for dinner with the rest of the pack, or he promised to give her a ride to or from school and cancelled at the last minute.

She didn't notice it at first, but by lunchtime on Wednesday, she realized she hadn't hardly seen him outside of school. And for some reason, it was bothering her. He wouldn't give her any reasons when he cancelled, he just said he couldn't make it or something.

It was now Thursday after school, and by some miracle Jake was available to drive her to Emily's.

She sat in the front passenger seat of his Rabbit, holding her backpack to her chest as she stared thoughtfully out the front windshield. She didn't realize her brows were furrowed or that she was biting her bottom lip.

"Lilly?" she looked over to see Jake glancing at her with a slightly worried expression. When they made eye contact for a second, Jake knew something was wrong. "What's wrong?"

She bit her lip and looked away, giving a shrug.

"Lilly, don't even do that. For one, I know when something's wrong, and two, you're not even trying." Jake pointed out.

Sighing in defeat, Lilly leaned over so she could pull her phone from her pocket. She typed out a quick sentence and held it out to him. He glanced it over quickly so his eyes wouldn't be off the road for more than a couple seconds.

 _'I feel like you've been avoiding me.'_

Jake's brows furrowed in concern as he looked back at the road. He should've known she would notice. He sighed.

"I haven't been intentionally avoiding you, Lilly. I promise." he stated gently. He could see her staring at him from the corner of his eye and his lips twitched. He was going to need to give her a better explanation than that. "If you must know,…I've been taking extra patrols this week so that I can get all of Saturday off for our date. If you're up for it, I was thinking about us spending the whole day in Port Angeles. There's some restaurants and shops and places we could choose from to visit while we're down there."

He paused to look over at her, only to find her gaping at him in amazement. He chuckled at her expression. She quickly fumbled over her phone before showing him her new text.

 _'You're patrolling extra just to get the day off for our date?!'_

He chuckled again. "Yes." he answered as he pulled up in front of Emily and Sam's house, parking the car.

Before he knew what was happening, Lilly lurched over and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. He stiffened for a second, his eyes wide before he slowly wrapped one arm around her back. She pulled away quickly a few seconds later and excitedly typed out on her phone.

 _'That's the sweetest thing EVER!'_

Jake laughed again, his cheeks heating up in embarrassment.

Lilly's excited expression slowly shrunk to a sweet, slightly sheepish smile, her face tilted down toward her lap.

Jake tilted his head a bit, trying to meet her eyes again. She peaked up at him after a few moments. Then, slowly, she leaned toward him and pressed a short kiss to his cheek.

When she pulled away, Jake could easily see the red tint to her tan cheeks, her eyes shyly ducked to avoid meeting his.

She briefly met his eyes with a smile before she got out of the car.

Jake waited a few moments before he followed her, slowly getting out of the car to go inside.

 **XXX**

 **I figured you'd all want some cute JakeXLilly to make up for how this chapter started. I know some of you don't like how much Bella is in this story, but unfortunately we haven't seen the last of her. Just bear with me though, okay? Pretty Please?**


	17. Chapter 17

The next day, Jake was able to drive Lilly from school to Emily's because he'd taken the early morning shift, right before school started. Lilly had noticed that all day he'd been antsy, looking deep in thought most of the day as well.

Finally, as they backed out of the school parking lot, Lilly pulled her phone out.

 _'What's wrong?'_

Jake glanced at the small screen and sighed in defeat. "You're not going to like it."

Lilly simply stared at him until he told her. "Okay, look…I'm going to have to leave you at Emily's or your place for a little while later tonight." He glanced at Lilly to see her raise her eyebrows at him, a clear question of 'Why?' in her expression.

Jake chewed on his lip for a moment before he admitted quietly, "I'm going to Bella's graduation party tonight."

Lilly sucked in a sharp breath, leaning back into her seat and facing forward. She didn't know what to think of that.

"I know what you're thinking…but Lilly, she's been calling my house everyday since it happened, and she feels bad about it. She just wants to talk and apologize. Part of it is that I want to give her the benefit of the doubt. Mainly," he flexed his hands on the steering wheel, "I feel bad making my dad play defense on the phone all the time, and Charlie came over the other day and guilt tripped me. I'll probably only stay for a little bit, though. Just to say I went. I swear, I really don't want to go at all, but I respect Charlie, and if that's all he wants from me, I'll do it."

They sat in silence as Jake allowed his imprint to think this over.

Lilly understood that he wanted to give her another chance; after all, they were close. And he claimed he didn't have any romantic feelings for Bella anymore. But at the same time, Lilly didn't like or trust the vamp tramp. She was likely to try something if she and Jake were alone. Heck, the last time she was alone with Jake she kissed him!

Lilly quickly turned to him and held her phone out.

 _'I want to come with you.'_

Jake swerved onto the side of the road and slammed on the brakes, making both of them lurch forward against their seatbelts. He turned to her, his expression bewildered and a bit angry.

"What? Why would you want to go? You hate Bella! And-and it's at the Cullens' place." he added quickly, figuring that would change her mind instantly. But Lilly simply crossed her arms, giving him a stern look that said she didn't care. "Lilly,…you're terrified of vampires." he pointed out gently, not wanting to upset her, "Why would you want to set foot in the house of a vampire coven?"

Lilly typed quickly before showing him her phone, her jaw clenched. _'You can't go alone. You need protection.'_

Jake's eyes softened a bit but he still looked resolute. "Embry and Quil are coming with me. You know they'll have my back better than anyone. Those leeches won't dare touch me."

 _'I want to protect you.'_

Jake fought a smile as he read her message. "Sweetie, and I mean this in the nicest way possible, but what could you possibly protect me from that they can't?"

Lilly typed out five, simple letters before showing it to him with a serious face.

 _'Bella'_.

Jake's smile dropped at that. She wanted to protect him from his best friend, the girl that had all but torn his heart out. The girl that had caused his pack problems, and his imprint physical pain. And Lilly was willing to come with him to the Cullens' house to protect him from Bella even after everything she'd been through because of vampires.

Jake sucked in a deep breath as those thoughts hit him. He couldn't help the quick, fleeting thought that Bella wouldn't have done that for him. He leaned over and pulled Lilly into a tight hug. He heard her quick intake of breath, surprised, but she quickly wrapped her arms around his back in return. Jake swallowed, burying his face in her hair, breathing in her cinnamon and green apple scent.

Finally, he sighed in defeat and pulled away, keeping his hands on her shoulders. "Okay, fine, you can come, _but_ …we're going to have a few rules." he waited for Lilly to nod in agreement before he continued, "For one, you stay at my side at all times, if I need to leave your side, you stay with Embry or Quil, or preferably both. Okay?" she nodded. "You do whatever I say. If I tell you to get behind me, you do it, if I tell you to go out to the car, you do it." Lilly grimaced but nodded. She wasn't pleased she was being bossed around, but she also knew how difficult it was for Jake to allow her into his enemy's domain. And if following his rules kept her safe from vampires, she'd do just about anything he said. "And…please don't eat or drink anything there unless me or the guys check it out first." he added pleadingly. Lilly's brow furrowed in confusion. That was certainly random. "Don't give me that look. Everything supernatural aside, this is a teenage party. There's a chance someone'll spike the punch or something. So just let me or the guys check it before you eat or drink anything. Please?"

Lilly smiled in amusement, but nodded in agreement.

"Thank you." Jake breathed in relief before thinking for a moment. "I can't think of anything else, but if I do I'll let you know later. Okay?"

XXX

A couple hours later found Lilly in her bedroom trying to decide what to wear. Normally she wouldn't care about her clothes, but she figured people dressed up at Graduation parties.

"What were you _thinking_?!"

Lilly jumped at her Gran's screech. She looked toward her bedroom door, which was cracked open as a quiet, deeper voice answered.

"So then don't let her go!" her Gran yelled at the other person. "I can't believe you're taking my granddaughter to the home of a vampire coven! Are you _insane_?!"

"I don't want to, okay? But you have no idea how hard it is to say no to her! She's stubborn and she wants to go. Embry and Quil will be there with us, she'll be completely protected."

Deciding she needed to get out there before her Gran got out her shotgun, Lilly quickly chose her skinny jeans and a loose, beige sweater.

Pulling it on quickly, she checked her hair and decided her waves looked fine. She hurried out her door but slowed down as she neared the living room.

When she rounded the corner she found her Gran glaring up at Jake, her arms crossed. Jake was looking down at her with his hands in his jean pockets. When he noticed Lilly enter the room, he straightened up and his hands left his pockets.

"Hey." he smiled, "You ready to go?"

Lilly smiled and nodded. When she neared her Gran she hugged the older woman and kissed her cheek, feeling the older woman relax.

"Be careful, sweetheart." she murmured, kissing Lilly's forehead. Lilly nodded in agreement and followed Jake out the front door. As they got in the car Jake mumbled something about Embry and Quil meeting them there.

It was easy for Lilly to notice Jake's whole body tense up when they crossed the Treaty line, his knuckles going white as they tightened on the steering wheel. She bit her lip, contemplating her next action. Finally deciding to try it, she slowly reached over and rested her hand on Jake's wrist closest to her. He stilled and his muscles relaxed a bit under her touch.

Lilly was about to pull away again when Jake's arm twisted under her fingers, and suddenly her hand was in his, their fingers weaving together as he rested their linked hands on his leg.

Lilly looked ahead, trying not to blush or smile. There was something…romantic about him holding her hand while he was driving. It was sweet.

A shiver ran up her arm, making her eyes travel down to the source. Jake was still holding her hand, but now his thumb was tracing her burn scars, running lightly over the edge of the scar tissue. Her scar was always sensitive, and tended to itch like crazy when it was hot, but she'd never felt a sensation quite like this one.

"You look nice tonight." Jake's quiet voice traveled easily in the small car.

Lilly smiled shyly at him when he met her eyes.

And he was being honest. With how loaded the Cullens are, all the girls attending this party were probably going to be wearing dresses and fancy outfits to try and fit in. But Lilly's outfit was both nice and casual. He liked how the light beige of the loose sweater made her tan skin appear to glow, and her jeans were tighter than normal, unlike the loose, comfy jeans she normally wore.

It wasn't long before Jake's keen eyes found the turnoff for the Cullens' driveway. He turned into it and found that the place was already packed. Bright lights and booming music was already coming from the large, glass house, illuminating the crowded, long driveway.

Near the back of the parking lot, he found Quil's car, his two best friends standing next to it. They turned and watched as Jake parked in the empty spot next to them.

Lilly took a deep breath as she took in the sight of the house. It honestly wasn't what she expected. Obviously, she knew that they could be in sunlight without burning, and it obviously wouldn't be a coffin, but she wasn't expecting this huge house almost entirely made of glass. And she didn't really like it any better. This kind of house didn't belong in the small town of Forks. It was flashy and gave her the impression that the Cullens were a bit stuck up.

She followed Jake in getting out of the car, shutting the door behind her. When her eyes found Quil and Embry over the roof of the car, she saw that they were staring at her in shock.

Embry's wide eyes snapped over to Jake. "You brought Lilly?"

"Are you insane?" Quil cut in, equally shocked.

Jake rolled his eyes, taking Lilly's hand in his as soon as she reached his side. "Lay off, guys. You think I wanted to bring her _here_ of all places? She's stubborn." he gave her a small smirk, which she returned with a smug one. "She made it extremely difficult to say no. You know how it is." he added to Quil.

Quil shrugged. "Yeah, but I'd like to think that, no matter what Claire said, I would _never_ bring her around here. I mean, seriously."

"Whatever. She made some pretty convincing arguments." he stated before turning to look down at Lilly again. "Remember the rules: you stay with me, or Quil and Embry, at all times; you do what I say; and don't eat or drink anything unless one of us okays it. Right?" Lilly nodded, refraining from sighing or rolling her eyes. "Good. Okay, lets go." he added to the guys.

Embry and Quil nodded, naturally flanking Jake and Lilly as they approached the large, glass house.

Lilly noticed Jake's hand tighten around hers as soon as they stepped inside the house, his nostrils flaring.

They paused several feet inside the house, their four pairs of eyes scanning the room and taking in their surroundings. People were everywhere, some talking, eating, drinking, and dancing to the loud music. Lilly almost felt overwhelmed by the people, noise, and flashing lights; causing her to instinctively step closer to Jake.

Jake felt her move closer, the soft sleeve of her sweater pressing against his bare forearm. He looked down at her, noting the way her eyes scanned the room, taking in every detail. She seemed a bit nervous, but mostly curious. He knew that would change if she caught so much as a glimpse of a Cullen. He wanted to get her out of there before that happened. He hated seeing her having that panic attack in the hospital, and he wanted to make sure she never felt that scared ever again.

Jake turned toward Embry, who immediately tore his eyes from the room to return the look.

"I'm gonna go find Bella and congratulate her. I shouldn't be more than ten minutes. You guys stay with Lilly, don't let her out of your sights." Jake ordered firmly.

Embry nodded, but Jake felt Lilly tighten her grip on his hand, her other hand coming up to grab his forearm. He looked down at her to find her staring up at him, her eyes wide and innocent.

"You'll be fine. Embry and Quil will look out for you." Jake assured her gently.

Lilly shook her head, her brow furrowing both in annoyance and concern. The whole reason she came was to be with him when he talked to Bella. Having her stay with the guys while he talked to Bella defeated the whole purpose.

"Hey," Jake turned completely toward her, his free hand gently taking hers from his arm and holding it, "I'll be fine, Lilly. I'm just going to congratulate her on graduating. Nothing bad is going to happen to me. You'd feel it if anything happened. I'll talk to her for no more than ten minutes, then we'll get out of here and go hang out or something, and then tomorrow you and I will spend the day in Port Angeles. Okay?"

Lilly bit her lip, her emotions at war with each other. She wanted to insist on going with him, and she wanted to be angry that he wasn't letting her, but then her belly got all warm and tingly thinking about their date.

Darn it.

She sighed in defeat, nodding her consent. Jake leaned down and kissed the top of her head, making her blush.

"I'll be back before you know it. Just try and…have some fun with Embry and Quil, okay?" Jake suggested before he slowly released her hand and disappeared into the crowd.

Lilly sighed again, looking around. When her eyes landed on Embry and Quil, she took in the smirks they were giving her and their matching poses with their arms crossed.

She immediately blushed and looked at her feet, her arms crossing over her stomach.

"Aw!"

"Look at you blushing!" Embry finished Quil's expression, reaching up to pinch Lilly's cheek. She swatted his hand away, huffing in annoyance.

"Okay, we'll leave you alone for now." Quil decided, still giving her that infuriating smirk before he looked around the room. "Can we go eat something? Please?" he pleaded, eyeing the large table of food hungrily.

Embry shrugged. "Sure, why not?" he waited until Lilly was following Quil before he brought up the rear, making sure Lilly was between them.

The two wolves quickly sniffed at everything, making Lilly glance around to ensure no one was giving them weird looks. When they assured her everything was safe, they quickly dug in.

Lilly looked over the table and decided to get a small cup of punch. Just as she finished pouring a scoopful of the red drink into a small, plastic cup a voice made her stiffen slightly.

"Hey there."

She peaked up a bit to see a tall, blonde guy with pale blue eyes grinning down at her. She relaxed a bit, since it wasn't a vampire, but she still remained on guard.

"My name's Mike." he introduced himself, looking her over.

Lilly bit the inside of her cheek, shifting her feet uncomfortably. She didn't like the way he was looking at her.

"Don't I get a name in return?" he asked after a few moments, "Come on, babe. I don't bite." he winked. Lilly subconsciously moved back a small step, desperately wishing one of the wolves was with her. If she could talk she'd tell the guy she wasn't interested, but she didn't need to embarrass herself by digging her phone out and telling him that way.

Like an answered prayer, heat touched her back like a wave as a large hand rested on her shoulder.

"She's not interested. I think you should back off, kid." Embry's firm voice said over her shoulder, making her muscles relax.

"I think she can speak for herself, man." Mike retorted, sizing Embry up. "Who are you supposed be, anyway? Her brother? Boyfriend?"

Embry chuckled darkly. "Oh, no. But I doubt her boyfriend will take kindly to you flirting around with her."

"Yeah? Well, where is this boyfriend?" Mike asked tauntingly. "Seems like he's neglecting her a bit, doesn't it? Leaving her all alone in this big, crowded party like that?"

Embry's hand disappeared from Lilly's shoulder just as a large, warm arm dropped around her shoulders.

"Who says I left her alone? Do you got a problem, Newton?" Jake's voice spoke from Lilly's side. His implications made her heart stutter, the thought of him being her boyfriend created butterflies in her stomach.

Mike gaped up at Jake for a moment. "I-wait, how do you…are you that guy from the movie theatre?" he stuttered.

Jake smirked. "Yeah, actually I am. And this is my girlfriend. So I strongly suggest you take a hike."

Mike quickly scurried away, making Lilly cover her mouth to stifle her laughter. Jake kissed her head, his chuckles making his breath tickle her hair.

"So, you find Bella?" Quil asked curiously, eating a brownie from the table.

Jake nodded, his arm slipping from Lilly's shoulders, only to wrap around her waist. "Yeah, I found her. Barely got three minutes with her before she blew me off for the pixie. But whatever, I tried. We can leave whenever."

Jake looked down to see what Lilly looked like, and realized she wasn't even paying attention to any of them. Her eyes were gazing out at what appeared to be a makeshift dance floor of sorts. Couples and groups of girls were dancing and swaying together. Jake's lips twitched when she unconsciously tilted her head just a bit as she watched them.

He turned to Embry and Quil. "Actually, can you guys give us a few minutes?" he asked. He ignored the way they smirked at each other as he turned back to Lilly and bent down so his mouth was near her ear. "You wanna dance?" he asked quietly.

Lilly blinked a few times before looking up at him. She searched his face for a moment before she smiled and nodded. Jake took her hand in his and lead her into the crowd, pulling her close to him.

He held their linked hands up a bit while his other hand went to her waist. Lilly bit her lips together nervously as she rested her free hand on his shoulder. They began swaying slowly as a new song began playing.

Jake smiled slightly as he looked down at her. "Well, this certainly isn't what I expected to be doing at Bella's graduation party." Lilly smiled back, revealing one of her dimples. "Sorry about, um, earlier when that guy started messing with you. I didn't mean to just… _assume_ we're boyfriend and girlfriend, I mean we haven't even been on a date yet. I was just trying to get him to back off. He has a habit of going after girls who want nothing to do with him." he grumbled the last sentence. Lilly chuckled, shaking her head in amusement as she smiled up at him. "We don't have to make anything official. In fact, if you're okay with it, I'd like to wait until after our date tomorrow to ask you officially." Jake added, smiling.

Lilly smiled shyly, ducking her eyes to look down at the black T-shirt stretched tightly over his chest. She nodded in agreement before looking back up at him. Jake's smile widened, his hand on her waist sliding around to the small of her back and pulling her closer to him.

Lilly's eyes focused on the collar of Jake's shirt, which was right in front of her eyes. Her forehead was almost touching his chin, his breath blowing over her hair with every breath.

She tilted her head back just a bit to look up at him. His eyes scanned her face from her eyes down to her lips, his head gradually lowering until their foreheads touched. He tilted his head just a bit and the tip of their noses touched.

Lilly swallowed, her tongue peaking out to lick her lips. Jake sucked in a breath at the action, his exhale warm on her face. His eyes moved back to hers. She didn't move away, but he gave her plenty of time to.

He leaned in a bit more, and Lilly felt his bottom lip barely graze her top one, the feeling making her eyes fall close.

Cool air suddenly hit Lilly's face at the same time as Jake's grip on her tightened. Her eyes flew open as a growl rumbled in his chest right in front of her face.

The bleach-like smell burned Jake's nose as he glared at the two parasites standing before him; one was the short, spiky-haired pixie and the other was the tense, blonde male.

"What do you two want?" Jake snarled as he turned and pushed Lilly behind his back, Embry and Quil suddenly appearing beside her.

"Calm down, dog. We were asked to collect you. Carlisle wants to talk to you." The pixie snapped, her nose scrunched up in disgust.

"What about?" Embry asked cautiously. Lilly found herself stepping closer to Jake's back, her hands fisting his T-shirt and her forehead coming to rest between his shoulder blades. The last thing she wanted to do was take a good look at the vampires and have a panic attack. So she focused on letting Jake's presence ground her.

"The girl behind you." Alice stated simply.

Jake's hand flew behind him to grip Lilly's waist.

"What about her?" he snarled, sounding more animal than human as his wolf tried to claw his way to the surface.

"I had a vision." the pixie answered seriously, her voice quiet so only the small group could hear her. "And it involves your girl."

 **XXX**

 **Dun, dun, DUUUUUNNN! Cliff hanger!**

 **Hope everyone liked it, and I shall try to update again within the next few days so you don't have to wait too long to find out what happens.**


	18. Chapter 18

**I figured I'd post this early to put you all out of your misery. Seriously, though, I got like 29 reviews for chapter 17 in under a day! That has to be a new record for me. So, as a thank you, as well as to end your suffering, I decided to post this early. (Also, no that wasn't their first kiss, that will be in chapter 19)**

 **Enjoy!**

 **XXX**

A snarl rumbled deep in Jake's chest as he pulled Lilly closer to his back, Embry and Quil stepping closer so that heat surrounded Lilly on all sides.

"What the hell do you mean?" Jake demanded, reminding himself to be quiet since humans were around. "I thought you couldn't see any of us or anyone connected to us. How is it that you can suddenly see Lilly?"

The pixie huffed. "I'm not sure, now will you come or not? I assume you'd like to hear what we're discussing."

Jake stayed silent for a moment before he gave one tense nod. When the two Cullens turned to walk away, Jake turned around and placed his hands on Lilly's shoulders.

"I want you to go wait by the car with Quil, okay? I'll be out as soon as I can."

Lilly shook her head frantically before he even finished talking.

"Lilly, this is serious. Bringing you here was difficult enough, and I never should've agreed to it, but I don't want you in a room full of vampires talking about some freaky vision the pixie had that somehow involves you. Not happening."

Lilly glared up at him, crossing her arms in determination.

"Hey, don't give me that look. You agreed to do whatever I tell you in order to come." Jake pointed out sternly.

Lilly quickly whipped her phone from her pocket and typed her response.

 _'You also agreed I could be there when you talked to the vamp tramp, but you went back on that, too.'_

Jake paused, reading that sentence over. "Did you just call her _'vamp tramp'_?" he asked in disbelief. "Did you pick that up from Paul?" He'd heard Paul slip up a couple times and call Bella a vamp tramp. Now that he thought about it, Paul didn't call her the leech lover as much anymore, probably having moved on to this new nickname.

Lilly blushed but didn't respond. The last thing she wanted to get into was the fact that Paul wasn't the one who came up with that nickname. Instead, she stared pleadingly up at him.

Jake sighed, rolling his eyes. "Alright, fine. But you stay between me, Quil, and Em, got it?" She nodded quickly. There was no way she would be anywhere near a vampire without the guys around her anyway.

Jake turned to the other two and nodded.

He turned and headed in the direction of the kitchen, where the Cullens appeared to have congregated, holding Lilly's hand behind his back. Embry and Quil flanked Lilly, making her feel like the President or something, surrounded by giant body guards.

She shivered when they entered the kitchen, catching a glimpse of a pale arm from around Jake's side.

"Alright, what's this all about?" Jake asked, getting right down to business.

"Alice had a vision." the doctor started, looking over at the pixie.

"I saw an army of newborns. They were passing around one of Bella's shirts that went missing a couple weeks ago, picking up her scent."

"What the hell's a newborn?" Embry asked quietly.

"A newborn vampire is one of our kind in the first year of their life. This is when they're the strongest and fastest because of the human blood that's still in their system. They also have very little control over their thirst." the doctor answered seriously.

"Okay, and what does that have to do with Lilly?" Jake asked seriously, his grip on Lilly's hand tightening.

"Alice's vision had two different parts." Edward answered, again looking back to the pixie.

"Before I saw them passing around Bella's scent, I saw one vampire talking to someone, but I couldn't see the face of who he was reporting to. But he was talking about the girl. He was telling his leader about how you wolves protect this particular girl with more ferocity than normal, so she must be important to your pack." Jake, Quil, and Embry tensed around Lilly. "He suggested that when they decide to attack, they also send someone to go after her, because if she were in danger your pack would be more focused on protecting her, leaving Bella with less protection."

"And I'd _rip_ the parasite apart before he got within two miles of her." Jake snarled viciously.

Edward was staring thoughtfully over at Alice. "I recognize the one that stole Bella's shirt. He's a local that's been missing for about a year. Riley Biers."

Jake's head snapped around to look at his two best friends, all theirs eyes wide.

Edward's head turned so fast it was hard to see, and he glared at the wolves. "Why didn't you tell us you had a run-in with him?" he hissed angrily.

Jake snarled. "Why didn't _you_ tell us he stole Bella's shirt?"

"You could've smelt her scent on the shirt when you went after him." Edward hissed.

"I was too busy worrying about my imprint being within inches of a leech."

Lilly lifted her free hand and placed it on Jake's back when she felt it start trembling, and it immediately stilled at her touch.

"We need to remain calm." the doctor placated, looking between his 'son' and the wolves. "We both have the same enemy in this. Whoever is behind this is smart enough to play with Alice's blind spots, and they're after both Bella and Lillian."

Lilly grimaced and stepped close to Jake at the sound of her name falling from a vampire's lips.

"Jake, please you have to help them." Bella pleaded.

Lilly tensed, her hand on Jake's back clenching around the fabric of his T-shirt. The thought of Jake, of her pack, going up against an _army_ of Cold Ones was almost enough to send her into a panic attack.

"Why the hell should we even get involved?" Jake snarled. "My pack can protect Lilly just fine without your help."

"And the town? Your reservation? Your people that you are supposed to protect?" Edward asked rhetorically. "What's to stop this army of thirsty newborns from going to the nearest source after they go through us and deal with Bella? They'll go to the nearest source of blood, which would be Forks and your reservation. Then what'll you do?"

A grumbling growl shook Jake's chest and back as he turned to look at Embry and Quil. They both nodded before Jake turned back to the Cullens, who were watching patiently.

"Let me make one thing clear," Jake started, "if anything at all happens to Lilly, I will personally hold your entire coven responsible, and that redhead will look like a mild annoyance compared to what I'll do to you."

"Jake, please." Bella interrupted, "You have to help them, please." she begged.

"Oh, we'll fight." Jake assured her, his eyes and voice cold and angry, "But I'm doing it to protect Lilly, _not_ Bella." he added to the whole room, "Lilly is mine and the pack's top priority, and we'll do whatever it takes to ensure her safety. We'll help, but not for Bella."

The doctor nodded in understanding before turning to the blonde male. "Jasper?"

The blonde eyed Jake, Embry, and Quil. "They'll give us the numbers, and the element of surprise. The newborns won't expect them to be fighting alongside us. For all we know, most of the newborns won't even know of their existence."

The doctor nodded again, taking a step forward into the center of the room. "We'll all need some training. Fighting newborns is different than the rest of our kind. Jasper has experience. He can teach us what to do."

Jake nodded. "Name the time and place."

"We've got just under a week before they're here." the pixie put in.

Carlisle nodded at her. "Would you and your pack like to meet us at the border tonight for some training? And maybe have some training every night until it's time, to make sure we're as prepared as we can be."

Jake glanced at his pack brothers. "Sure. I'll need to talk to Sam and the others. What time are we thinking?"

"Would midnight work?"

Jake nodded and Lilly trembled, sucking in a shaky breath.

Jake could feel her fear building up through the bond and decided it was time to leave. "If that's everything, we'll be leaving." he stated in a tone that said no argument. Turning around, he broke Lilly's grip on his shirt and began ushering her through the house, knowing his brothers would be watching his back as they made their exit.

He kept Lilly in front of him until they were outside. Then, he grabbed her hand and stepped around her, tugging her after him toward his car.

When the group reached their cars at the back of the temporary parking lot, Jake turned to look at his pack brothers over Lilly's head.

"You two go to Sam's and fill him in on what's going on. I'm going to drop Lilly off at her place and meet you there." Jake ordered. Both Embry and Quil nodded seriously before getting in Quil's car.

Lilly climbed into Jake's Rabbit, her body numb from the shock. It felt like one minute her and Jake had been dancing, and about to kiss, and everything seemed normal. Now, suddenly, there was an army of the creatures she feared the most, and they wanted to hurt her, even kill her, just to try and stop the pack from getting in the way. Her Wolf, her pack, her friends…were basically being forced into a fight that wasn't theirs.

Jake took a deep breath as he drove down the empty road, trying to calm down. He was still pissed that Bella and the Cullens dragged his imprint into this mess. But now that he was out of their house, and in a small car with Lilly's scent surrounding him, he was able to calm himself and his wolf down enough that he wasn't shaking any more than light tremors.

However, the bitter smell of fear tainting Lilly's scent was what eventually dragged his eyes from the road to the small girl next to him.

She was shivering, her eyes wide with fear as she stared blankly out the window.

Jake swallowed thickly. He hated seeing her so scared. He knew he shouldn't have brought her to the Cullens'.

Reaching across the car, he took one of her small, cold, trembling hands into his; his whole hand engulfing hers and warming it almost instantly. She turned and fixed her eyes on him, the fearful glaze over her eyes clearing a bit as she acknowledged him.

He kept his eyes on the road but glanced at her every so often. "I know you're scared, Lilly. What's going through your head right now? Please?" he asked quietly.

She sighed, and he felt her shift as she got her phone out.

He didn't look at her until he saw the light of her phone screen in his peripheral vision. He looked directly at the writing on the screen.

 _'I don't want the pack to fight. I don't want one of you to get hurt.'_

Jake's heart warmed a bit as he turned his eyes back to the road. She wasn't selfish. She didn't want to drag the pack into this fight, like Bella did. She didn't want him to get hurt. She didn't want their pack to get hurt.

"We have to do this, Lilly. It's what we're built to do. Killing leeches has never been a problem for us, you know that. I have to protect you, and the pack has to protect you and the reservation. That's why we phase, you know that." he turned to look at her, giving her a small smile. "I'm your protector, remember? I'm Your Wolf. If anything were to happen to you…" he trailed off, shaking his head at the thought. "I _can't_ leave your fate in the cold, undead hands of those parasites. Even if you weren't involved, we'd probably have to help in some way no matter what. We have to protect our people, our families."

Lilly took a deep breath, nodding in acceptance. She knew he was right, but she didn't have to like it.

What she didn't mention was that she had a feeling their date was probably cancelled. The pack would be training every night until the fight came, and much of their spare time would probably be taken up in preparation as well. It was selfish and petty, but she'd been looking forward to this date for a week. Now it probably wouldn't happen for a while. Compared to everything else, a date wasn't a big deal.

She didn't realize how much time had passed until they parked in front of her house.

"I've gotta go talk to Sam. If you want, I can stop by afterwards, but I don't know what time that'll be." Jake said gently, his eyes searching her face.

She nodded quickly, wanting him to fill her in on the pack's plan.

Jake smiled at her before leaning over and kissing her temple, squeezing her hand one more time before releasing it. Her lips tugged up a tiny bit at the action as she opened the door and stepped out.

Jake watched her walk to her front door. She waved at him one last time before going inside, and then he drove away.

XXX

For the couple hours following Jake dropping her off, Lilly tried do anything she could to keep her mind off the pack meeting and upcoming battle. She tried doing homework, took a shower, changed into her pajamas, and finally tried to read a book in her bedroom.

It wasn't until 11:14 that Lilly heard someone knock on her window. Her head snapped up, fear pulsing in her heart until she recognized Jake's face peering back at her. She jumped off her bed and hurried over to the window, pushing it up.

He climbed inside and shut the window behind him. When he turned back to her, she was staring at him expectantly.

Jake sighed, putting his hand on her shoulder to gently push her to sit on the bed, him sitting beside her.

"I can only stay for a bit. Since we're meeting the Cullens at midnight, Sam wants me back at his place no later than ten minutes before midnight. You doing okay?" he asked gently.

She grimaced, giving a shrug with her arms crossed over her stomach. Jake nodded in understanding. He didn't really expect her to be okay.

"Tomorrow morning, Sam's gonna call a meeting with the Elders to fill them in on this."

Lilly sighed. She knew her Gran was going to flip. She'd probably smother her for the next month.

Jake gently took hold of Lilly's wrist, sliding his hand down to grip hers and pull her arm from her stomach. "I also wanted to talk about tomorrow." he whispered.

Lilly's eyes flew to his face.

"With everything we've got to worry about, with training and everything else, I don't really feel comfortable going too far from the rest of the pack, both for your protection as well as the reservation." Jake started gently, making Lilly look down at her lap. She knew where this was going. And she understood.

"So, I was hoping we could have our date here on the reservation."

Lilly's whole face flew up to stare at Jake in shock, her lips even parting in surprise.

"What?" Jake asked when he saw her expression. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Lilly shook her head a bit to clear it, reaching over to grab her notepad off her bedside table.

 _'I thought you'd want to cancel it.'_

Jake's eyes flew wide open. "What? No, no definitely not. I've been waiting for this all week, I don't want to cancel it. I mean,…do you?" he asked nervously.

Lilly shook her head quickly, a smile growing on her face.

Jake sighed in relief, his signature smile returning. "Good. I'll have to come up with some other stuff to do, since we can't go to PA, but I'll think of something. We could mostly just hang out and do relaxing stuff, nothing too fancy or anything. Would that be okay?"

Lilly nodded contentedly, giving him a gentle smile.

"Great." Jake beamed at her before glancing at her alarm clock. It was still only 11:18. He had just under half an hour before he would need to leave.

"I've got about half an hour before I need to get there. Do you want me to stay, or…" he trailed off, leaving her to answer however she wanted.

Lilly bit her lip, glancing at her bed. She really didn't want him to leave, but she didn't know if what she wanted to do would make things awkward or weird.

Gathering her courage, she scooted up onto her bed, scooting over to the opposite side before she grabbed Jake's hand back, tugging on it.

Jake took the hint and smiled, scooting up and around until he could lean back against her headboard. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side, holding her there and keeping her from falling out of the bed.

They stayed like that, Lilly almost half asleep, until Jake knew he needed to leave. He kissed her forehead, whispered, "I've got to go. Goodnight." and slipped out her window, into the night.


	19. Chapter 19

Just before 10:00 the next morning, Lilly was throwing her usual beach necessities into her bag. Her and Jake were just having a simple date. They were going to hang out at First beach, mostly swimming; and then they were going back to Jake's house to eat pizza and maybe watch movies or something. Nothing fancy, but definitely something they both needed. A healthy dose of fun and normalcy.

Lilly checked through the contents of her bag as she made her way down the hall toward the living room, making sure she had everything she'd need. When she was satisfied, she plopped it on the couch so she could let Dash out to do his business quick. Her Gran had already left for the day for the council meeting Sam set up, having no idea it would be about her only granddaughter. And Lilly was more than happy that she wouldn't be home when her Gran got back. She was dreading facing that storm.

Just as she was letting Dash back inside, there was a knock at the front door. Dash yipped and rushed toward it, bouncing over halfway up the door. Lilly chuckled at the hyper little dog before opening the door to reveal Jake standing there in tan cargo shorts and a tight, black T-shirt.

He grinned at her only to be interrupted by Dash jumping all the way up to his chest. He blinked and looked down, trying to suppress a smile at the Jack Russell Terrier, who was yipping and wagging his stubby tail furiously.

"Well, hello to you, too." Jake greeted Dash before lifting his eyes again to smile at Lilly. "Hey."

She smiled, giving him a shy wave.

"You ready to go?" he asked, nodding his head in the direction of the beach. Lilly nodded, turning back to the living room.

She grabbed her beach bag off the couch and turned back toward the door, about to whistle for Dash, but she paused. Jake had crouched down in the open front doorway and was ruffling both of Dash's ears, smiling his usual, big grin as the little dog sat in front of him, his tail still going crazy. Jake's hands were big enough to engulf Dash's whole head, but Dash was perfectly happy getting attention from the guy.

She would've made some comment about Dash accepting Jake into his pack, or that Jake must smell like another dog, but she simply smiled and shook her head. Giving them one more moment, she finally gave a sharp whistle.

Dash looked over his shoulder at her for a moment before hurrying in her direction. She heard Jake chuckle as she patted the couch with her hand. Dash leapt up, his toes barely touching the back of the couch before he landed with a thump on the middle couch cushion, turning in a circle before plopping down on his belly.

Lilly smiled, scratching his back quickly before following Jake out the door, closing it behind her.

"You got him trained pretty well." Jake commented, giving her a grin as they walked down the sidewalk toward his Rabbit parked in front of her house.

Lilly ducked her head in embarrassment, giving a small shrug. Jake chuckled, nudging her arm with his elbow before opening his front passenger door, holding it open for her get in.

She smiled at him before getting inside. Jake shut the door behind her and rounded the car to get in the driver's seat.

They made the short drive to the First Beach parking lot, Jake holding Lilly's hand the entire ride. They released each other when Jake parked the car, and Lilly got out of the car. She started slowly walking down the beach before Jake got out of the car. He smirked before lunging forward, scooping her into his arms.

Lilly shrieked in surprise, laughing as she barely kept from dropping her bag on the ground. Jake laughed with her as he made his way toward the water. Lilly tensed when he kept walking, nearing the ocean. She squirmed in his arms when his sneakers stopped inches away from the water's edge. His arms pretended to drop and she screamed, her arms wrapping around his neck, but she didn't fall. Jake laughed at her reaction and she released one arm to smack the back of his head.

"Okay, okay!" he shouted through his laughter, trying to lean his head back out of her reach as he moved away from the water. "Sorry! I was kidding! I wouldn't actually drop you, you know!"

Lilly laughed as Jake finally placed her feet back on the ground.

"Okay, you wanna swim first, or is there something else you want to do while we're here?" Jake offered, his hands resting on his waist in a relaxed pose.

Lilly bit her lip, crossing her arms as she looked thoughtfully around the beach. Her eyes traveled to the woods at the edge of the beach, and in extension, up the side of the cliffs.

Her eyebrows rose as the idea popped into her head and she pointed up to the top of the cliffs.

Jake's eyes followed her finger. "Cliff diving?" he guessed, looking back down at her. She met his eyes and nodded, her eyes easily displaying a mix of mild fear but mostly excitement. "You sure?" he checked in case she wanted to back out.

She barely glanced up at the cliff before meeting his eyes resolutely, giving a firm nod.

Jake nodded. "Okay, then."

Lilly dropped her bag and spread out her towel first. Then, she slipped her shorts and shirt off so she was only in her swimsuit. She glanced up just in time to see Jake pull his shirt over his head, revealing his toned six-pack. She stared for a moment, her eyes glued to his muscles, before her mind caught up with her. She quickly dropped her eyes to her stuff, making sure her things were on the towel before standing and waiting patiently for Jake to finish. He dropped his T-shirt on the towel and toed off his shoes before being ready to go.

"Alright. Let's go, but we're not jumping from the very top," he added firmly as he took her hand and started walking, "That's for the pack only. It's more dangerous way up there."

Lilly nodded in agreement. She had a feeling she'd back out if they tried from the very top.

They walked the path through the woods up to the cliffs, and about halfway Jake insisted on Lilly climbing onto his back. So, he gave her a piggyback the rest of the way until they reached the ledge about halfway up the cliff, even joking around and pretending to drop her as they went.

When they broke through the trees, Lilly wiggled a bit to show she wanted down. As soon as her bare feet touched the grass, she walked around Jake and hesitantly peaked over the edge of the cliff at the relatively calm ocean below.

"You sure you want to jump?" Jake checked one more time, coming up and resting a hand on her back, the heat seeping through her thin, black tankini.

She smiled up at him and nodded.

He grinned. "Okay. You want to jump first, second, or do you want us to jump together?" he asked patiently, his hand leaving her back as he stood next to her.

She barely even had to think about it before she reached out and gripped his hand tightly. He gently squeezed her hand in return.

"Together?" he guessed with a smile. She nodded. "Great. On three. One," she took a deep breath and braced herself, "two,…three!"

Jake's hand barely tugged Lilly's as the two leapt off the cliff. The cold air blasted up at their faces, their laughter and cries of exhilaration being swept away on the wind. The weightless feeling was amazing for the five seconds it lasted before Lilly sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes. Right after, they hit the water, their bodies slicing through the dark waves.

Lilly floated there for a moment, simply letting the relaxing movement of the cool water calm her racing heart. Then, Jake's hand still holding hers gave a tug and she swam after him towards the surface.

They broke through the water gasping for air, huge smiles spread over both their faces.

"So?" Jake gasped, still catching his breath, "How was it?"

Lilly laughed loudly, swimming forward and wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug. Jake wrapped an arm around her waist, using his other one to keep them afloat.

While he wished she would talk, even just to him, he could get by just hearing her laugh. As cheesy as it was, he loved her laugh. Sometimes she would give a little giggle or chuckle, but it was her actual laugh that he loved hearing. It wasn't high pitched, it was carefree and happy, a sign that her silence didn't mean she was depressed like some people thought.

After several moments, he pulled back to look down at her. "You wanna go again?"

She nodded excitedly, already releasing him to swim back to shore. Instead of walking, they raced each other back to the cliffs and jumped a couple more times before deciding that was enough for the day.

They then swam and played in the ocean. They had a splash fight and Lilly tried to dunk Jake underwater. He let her think she succeeded, willingly dunking his head under the surface of the murky ocean.

After a while they both walked out of the water and up the beach, laughing and out of breath before they flopped down on the towels.

"Well, I'll give you credit," Jake grinned as he sat beside her, his arms rested on his bent-up knees, "For someone so tiny, you've actually got some muscles in there." he reached over and poked her small bicep. She swatted his hand away, laughing.

They relaxed for a few minutes before Lilly's stomach gave a loud growl. Jake laughed while she blushed in embarrassment.

"Come on. We'll head back to my place and order pizza." he announced, hopping to his feet offering a hand to her.

XXX

When they got back to Jake's house he offered for her to take a shower to get the sandy ocean water out of her hair while he ordered the food. When she got out he told her to pick a movie while he took a quick shower. He got out again a couple minutes before the pizza guy arrived with two large pizzas.

Lilly picked a movie she liked out of his small collection and put it in the DVD player as Jake went into the kitchen.

"You want three slices?" he asked, looking into the living room as he got down a couple plates, waiting for a nod or something.

Lilly hesitated before answering, "Uh-huh."

Jake paused, his eyes fixed on the back of her head. It wasn't really speaking, but it was something. He smiled, putting three slices on her plate and six slices on his. He took both plates into the living room and asked if she wanted a soda, which she answered with a nod. When he returned and handed one to her and took his seat on the couch beside her he saw the opening menu of the movie playing on the TV.

He grinned, looking down at her. " _The Avengers_?"

She nodded with a grin, pushing play on the remote and taking a bite of pizza.

A few minutes into the movie, Lilly noticed Jake yawn a few times. She looked at him in concern. He saw and gave her a smile.

"I'm fine. I just had a patrol early this morning. I got off just a bit before I picked you up, actually. But I swear, I'm fine."

Lilly nodded, but was still frowning a bit in concern. If the pack had been training with the Cullens from midnight to whenever, and then Jake had patrol until almost ten in the morning, he probably only got a few hours of sleep.

About two hours later, there was two empty pizza boxes on the coffee table, along with two empty soda cans, one empty plate, and one plate with five pizza crusts. Jake had teased Lilly a little bit when he discovered she didn't like eating the crusts of her pizza.

Earlier, when Lilly had finished her food and placed them on the coffee table, she'd scooted a bit closer to him and nestled into his side under where his arm was rested on the back of the couch. The position gave Jake a huge whiff of her scent, and he realized her natural scent was mixed in with his body wash from her earlier shower. He quickly decided he liked her smelling a bit like him.

Lilly practically cackled during the final battle when Hulk repeatedly smashed Loki into the floor, leaving the villain trembling in the smashed indent in the marble floor. Jake smirked, shaking his head at how amusing Lilly thought the scene was.

When the movie was drawing to a close, the front door opened, making Jake and Lilly look over the back of the couch. Billy wheeled in with Charlie Swan trailing behind him, both wearing fishing gear and carrying a cooler.

Billy smiled at the sight of his son with his imprint nestled into his side, her eyes barely visible over Jake's shoulder.

"Hello Lilly, Jake. How's your day been?" Billy asked, wheeling a bit closer to the pair.

"Pretty good." Jake answered, smiling briefly down at Lilly before looking between his dad and Charlie. "Have a good time fishing?"

"Sure did." Charlie answered with a grin, "We'll have to have a fish fry soon, haven't had one in a while."

"Sounds like a plan." Billy grinned over his shoulder before turning back to his son. "Well, we'll put these away and leave you two alone." he winked at Lilly, which made her blush and face forward, before he turned his wheelchair and headed for the kitchen.

After the movie, Jake and Lilly stayed on the couch, "talking" and getting to know each other for a while. They eventually put in another movie, but they only paid it half their attention, choosing instead to continue getting to know each other.

Jake's middle name was Ephraim; Lilly's was Evangeline. Jake admitted he wanted to open his own garage after high school, maybe with Embry and Quil's help. Lilly wasn't sure what she wanted to do with her life, but since she loved art so much she wouldn't mind doing something with that. Jake admitted he was upset with both of his sisters, who had left as soon as they graduated high school two years ago and hadn't visited or hardly called since. Lilly's favorite memories were when she used to go camping for a night or weekend with her dad before her parents died and hadn't done so since. Jake admitted that, while he didn't like being a wolf that much, he loved running because it was the fastest he'd ever gone in his life. Lilly decided that if she were given the chance to go to a major theme park she'd go to Universal Studios Theme Park because it looked more fun than Disney World.

When it neared 5:00 in the evening Jake asked if she needed to get home, and she realized she did, since she still had a history essay to finish writing.

Since it wasn't raining, Jake walked Lilly home, carrying her beach bag for her over one shoulder while his other hand held hers. When they eventually reached Lilly's front door, they stood facing each other, their hands still linked.

"So, even though it wasn't quite what I originally planned for our first date, it was fun, right? I mean, I had a good time." Jake grinned sheepishly.

Lilly giggled quietly, nodding her head.

Jake smiled, looking relieved. "So,…would you like to be my girlfriend?" he asked quietly.

Lilly tried to suppress her smile, not wanting to look like a dork. She peaked up at Jake and slowly nodded her head.

Jake's smile was so wide she was surprised it didn't split his face in two.

He gently tugged on her hand, pulling her forward a step so they were less than a foot apart. He leaned down a bit, his head tilted. He paused and met her eyes. She smiled and subtly leaned up a bit. Jake smiled before leaning down and pressing his smile to hers in a sweet kiss.

It only lasted a few seconds, but it was a few seconds of warm, soft bliss. When Jake pulled away he couldn't stop himself from pressing another kiss to her forehead.

"I'd better go. But I really did have a good time today." he whispered. Lilly nodded in agreement, her eyes boring up into his. "We included your house in the patrol loop, so someone'll be keeping an eye on your house, just until this whole leech thing is over with. Have a good night." Lilly nodded again with a gentle expression, not liking that the pack had to work extra because she got dragged into this vampire mess, but also feeling relieved that a protector was out there to keep her and her Gran safe.

Lilly stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. She took her beach bag from him and opened her front door, giving him one last smile before stepping inside.

 **XXX**

 **I hope everyone liked their date. I obviously don't own the movie Jake and Lilly watched, as the movie** _ **The Avengers**_ **belongs to Marvel. I also know that** _ **The Avengers**_ **didn't come out until 2012 and Twilight is set in 2006ish, but I don't care, it's the movie I planned when I first thought up this story and I love the scene where Hulk smashes Loki. Personally, I recommend looking the scene up on Youtube, because it's hilarious.**


	20. Chapter 20

Monday morning, Lilly approached Jake's car parked in front of her house with the intention of finding out what happened the day before.

Sunday evening she'd been hanging out with the pack and other imprints when there was a strange howl she didn't recognize. Then the whole pack rushed outside without another word. Lilly had intended to stick around and find out what happened, but her Gran called her home for dinner. No one had contacted her since and she was desperate for some answers.

She opened the front passenger door of Jake's car and climbed in, waving to Embry in the back.

"Sleep well?" Jake asked with a smile, glancing at her as he began driving.

"Mhm." Lilly responded. She'd begun making similar noises a bit more often, not quite talking but close. Her eyes scanned over Jake's profile, noting that despite his best efforts, she could just make out the slightest tension and stress in his shoulders.

She bit her lip and glanced back at Embry, but he was staring distractedly out the window. She looked back at Jake and hesitantly reach across the car to lightly touch his wrist where he was griping the steering wheel.

He sighed, releasing the wheel with that hand and twisting his wrist so he could hold her hand.

She continued to stare at him, knowing full well he was aware of her watching.

When the school came into view, Jake sighed in defeat. "A couple more wolves phased last night." he admitted quietly.

Lilly tensed, taking in a quick breath as she watched him worriedly.

"They're both younger than Seth, only 13." he continued, gently squeezing her hand in his. "Jared and Paul are going to take turns skipping classes to help Sam with them today."

At this point he pulled the car into a parking spot and turned the car off. With a shared glance in the rearview mirror, Embry silently got out of the car, leaving Jake and Lilly alone.

She knew something was up, something he hadn't told her yet. So, she turned in her seat to stare at him expectantly, holding his hand in her lap.

Jake sighed, finally looking over at her with a sad smile. "One of 'em is Collin Littlesea, my little cousin. His mom, Connie, is my dad's younger sister. I haven't really hung out with him in a while, but we used to be pretty close. I just…it's hard…seeing him go through this. Of course, after he quit freaking out he thought it was cool. But he doesn't completely realize what all of this means, what he's losing because of this life."

Lilly gazed at Jake sympathetically, running her thumb over his knuckles. She scooted a bit closer until her hip pressed to the side of the seat, so she could wrap one of her arms around his and rest her cheek on his shoulder. He sighed, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

"There's more." he mumbled after a moment.

Lilly pulled away to look up at him worriedly.

"The other boy…it's Brady Fuller." he whispered.

Lilly's eyes went wide as a chill ran down her spine. It couldn't be true. Not Brady.

Brady was Lilly's second cousin, or something like that. His grandpa and Lilly's grandpa Adam were brothers, which made Brady and Lilly's dads cousins. Lilly had been close to Brady when they were younger, but when her parents died she'd unintentionally pushed him away like she did everyone else.

And now that he had phased, he would finally know everything. He would know how her parents died, why she went quiet, and he'd know about Jake imprinting on her. She wasn't sure if she should be happy or not. Jake was right, this was too much to put on a pair of 13 year old boys. And the thought of her little cousin going up against a vampire terrified her more than anyone else in the same situation.

Jake's hand slipped out of hers, sliding around her waist and pulling her into his side again.

"He's doing okay, Lilly. Him and Collin actually think this whole thing is pretty cool. And there's no way Sam'll let them see any leech action for a long time." He pulled back just enough to look down at her, his eyes scanning her face. "He wants to talk to you when he phases back. I know you two need to talk, and I'll do my best to give you both the privacy you're going to need, but he'll be unstable for a while and I can't risk him losing control around you." Lilly nodded in understanding.

Jake smirked a bit. "He also tried to threaten me with my life if I ever hurt you. It's cute that he tried to be scary."

Lilly laughed, smacking his shoulder even as her eyes stung with tears. Jake laughed with her, leaning down and kissing her cheek.

"Come on. Class is going to be starting soon." he pointed out, pulling away to open his door.

XXX

In English, Lilly barely paid attention. All she could focus on was that Paul had walked in with the rest of the class during passing time, having taken the first shift with Brady and Collin. All she wanted to do was ask him how they were doing, but instead she had to listen to Mrs. Alexander read some boring chapter book to the class.

"Now, before the dismissal bell rings, I want to tell you all what your final speech is going to be on the last day of class." Mrs. Alexander announced three minutes before the bell would ring. "It's pretty simple. Just a two minute speech on what you think is the most important thing you learned this year. Interpret that however you want, give a speech on whatever that is, and please keep it school appropriate." she finished sternly, looking straight at the back of the room, where Lilly knew Paul was sitting.

When the bell rang, Lilly didn't even have the chance to catch up with Paul, because he was already out the door. She hurried to get to lunch, and when she got to their usual table she saw that Jared was sitting with his arm around Kim, and Paul was gone again.

She got her tray and sat between Jake and Seth. Jake smiled at her in greeting before he went back to his food. Lilly simply stared at Jared with wide, desperate eyes until he realized she was looking at him.

He took one look at her expression and sighed. "They're fine, Lilly. I was just with them and they're both fine. If I had to guess, they'll phase back no later than tonight, okay?"

Lilly nodded, sighing. Jake took her free hand in his and kissed the top of her head, making her blush. She smiled shyly up at him from under her lashes, trying to ignore the gasps and whispers of teenage girls a couple tables over.

Embry chuckled under his breath, glancing over Lilly's shoulder at the table the sounds were coming from. "I swear some people have no life." he whispered so only their table could hear, giving Quil a nudge with his elbow. But Quil didn't pay attention, staring at his phone with a small smile. He was probably texting Claire back and forth.

Lilly rolled her eyes, refraining from looking over her shoulder. She simply picked up her fork and started eating her lunch.

XXX

After school Lilly beat Jake to his car and waited impatiently, making him laugh.

"Relax. They may not even be human yet, and if they are I doubt Sam will let them go home yet." Jake pointed out as he passed her to the driver side of the car.

Lilly huffed, getting in once he unlocked the car. They drove to Sam and Emily's house in a sort of line with the other pack members' cars. When they parked, Lilly slowly got out, her eyes finding Jake's worriedly.

He was staring thoughtfully at the house, his head tilted a bit before he turned to look at her over the roof of the car. "They're not in there yet, Lilly. They're probably still in the woods."

Lilly nodded, releasing a breath. She wasn't sure if she was relieved or not. Jake walked around his car to grab her hand so the two could go inside. She looked over her shoulder in time to see Jared give Kim a kiss before jogging into the trees nearby, probably to relieve Sam.

Everyone else gathered in the kitchen to eat the cookies Emily had made, greeting her with smiles, 'hello's, or hugs. Sam came inside a few minutes later, telling Seth and Embry to go run patrol. They both whined, but did as they were told, snagging a few cookies on the way out.

Lilly bit her lip, really wanting to know how Collin and Brady were doing, but she couldn't get Sam's attention, and staring would be awkward since he was being all lovey-dovey with Emily.

Jake chuckled under his breath suddenly. "Hey, Sam? You think you could give Lilly a peace of mind about the pups?" he called.

Sam pulled away and looked at Lilly, giving her a small smile. "They're both fine. They've come close to phasing back a couple times, it shouldn't be long now."

Lilly nodded, slightly relieved as she went back to nibbling on her cookie.

A half an hour later, most of the guys had moved to the living room to play some videogame while Kim and Lilly helped Emily prepare dinner.

Loud shouting and distinct calls of greeting made Lilly pause where she was cutting vegetables at the table, looking over her shoulder toward the doorway that separated the kitchen and living room.

A few moments later, Embry came hurrying in the room toward the small plate of cookies that Emily saved. He was quickly followed by two younger shirtless boys, one laughing loudly with Embry and the other a bit quieter, but just as excited.

Embry grinned at her as he snagged a cookie. The second boy, who Lilly's eyes were fixed on, grabbed a few cookies himself, his eyes lifting to barely glance at her. He did a double take, his smile falling and his eyes widening to stare at her.

Lilly tried and failed to swallow, staring into the eyes that looked so similar to her dad's and grandpa's.

"Lilly?" Brady voiced her name in little more than a whisper, but Lilly heard it. She was barely aware that the noise in the living room had diminished somewhat as well.

Her lips trembled as she looked him over. He was no longer her scrawny baby cousin. His cheeks, as well as his stomach, had lost their baby fat, so his cheekbones were a bit more chiseled and defined and he was sporting a six-pack. He was no longer 4 and a half feet tall like the last time they'd hung out, he was now closer to 5 and half feet tall, almost 6. She was no longer taller than him by a few inches, he was at least a few inches taller than her, and sure to grow like crazy. His black hair was no longer to his shoulders like his mom liked to keep it, instead it swept over his eyebrows in a sort of messy, skater boy haircut.

Her eyes traveled back to his to see that he was also looking her over, his eyes landing on her left hand that was left in plain sight on the table, her burn scar standing out against her skin.

His muscles trembled as he stared at Lilly's hand. She wanted to pull her sleeve down over it, but she couldn't move. Suddenly, Jake and Embry were both there, Jake standing between her and Brady, and Embry gripping Brady's shoulder.

"Dude, you need to calm down or get outside. We're not letting you talk to her until you're under control." Embry muttered sternly in his ear.

Lilly watched with heartache as Brady nodded tensely, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths. The knife and cutting board in front of her was suddenly slipped from her fingers and she turned to see Kim give her a sad smile, taking them and cutting the vegetables for her.

When Lilly turned back, Brady's muscles were relaxed again, his shoulders slumped. He opened his eyes to glanced apologetically at Jake and Embry, actually looking a bit scared of Jake. She couldn't blame him. Jake could be intimidating when he wanted to be, and Brady had probably heard horror stories of what happened to people who messed with an imprint.

"I'm okay." he whispered, his eyes glancing sadly down at Lilly. Jake nodded and stepped back a bit, but didn't make any other move to leave the room. Brady glanced around nervously before taking the empty chair at the table next to Lilly. He looked lost for a few moments, and Lilly felt the same. Finally, he looked up into her eyes from under his bangs. "Hey." he whispered with a sad smile.

She smiled back, her eyes watery. She wanted to talk right then, so bad. But she didn't know what to say.

"I wish I'd been there for you." he continued quietly. "I wanted to approach you and talk to you so many times, but something always happened. Either someone interrupted or stopped me, or they said it wasn't a good time or you weren't doing well. And next thing I know, people are spreading rumors that you went mute. I just…I didn't know what to do. I was scared." he said the last sentence so quietly Lilly barely heard him, she was sure that for once, the pack didn't hear it.

She struggled to swallow again, her throat and lips dry.

"And then, to hear what _really_ happened from the pack…I was terrified. You could've been…" Brady shook his head, not able to continue, but it was obvious what he was thinking.

Lilly wanted to hug him. She wanted nothing more than to hug him like they used to when they were younger, when their hugs offered comfort for both sides, not just the older cousin helping the younger, or the boy helping the girl; there was comfort from both sides. Her hands shifted a bit, her arms lifted a smidge before she hesitated.

Brady picked up on her hesitance. He glanced at Jake, begging for permission. Jake had been watching the exchange from against the counter with a keen eye, making sure the new pup wouldn't lose it. When he met Brady's eyes, he barely thought about it for a second before he nodded his consent. He knew Brady could offer comfort to Lilly that no one else really could.

Brady turned back to Lilly, slowly lifting his hands toward her. She sucked in a shaky breath before leaning forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and shoulders. Brady hesitantly wrapped his arms around her lower back, careful not to use his new strength on her.

Lilly clung to him, burying her face in his shoulder. The hug physically felt different than it used to. He was bigger, his shoulders broader, and his temperature was the same as the pack's, around 108. But for some reason that made it better. It was combining the comfort of her baby cousin with the pack, her new friends and family. Her cousin and her pack.

Brady held her close, his eyes staring blankly over her shoulder as he took everything in. Everything he'd learned in the last 24 hours. Tribal legends, shape shifters, Cold Ones, imprinting, and then everything his cousin had gone through. He only wished he'd been there for her. Maybe then she wouldn't have gone mute.

"You don't have to talk, Lil." he found himself whispering into her hair. "Just because I know everything, don't feel like you have to talk, to me or anyone. Talk when you're ready. I'll always be here for you."

Lilly nodded tearfully into his shoulder, taking a deep breath and feeling a weight leave her chest, making it easier to breathe.

XXX

Jake ran through the woods late the next night, weaving between trees on his way to get to Lilly's house. His pack brothers talked among themselves in his head, a few saying their goodnights as they phased out to go inside their houses. They'd just finished training with the Cullens again for the night, and Jake had a job he was supposed to do, not that he was happy about it.

When he reached Lilly's backyard, he phased out and pulled on his shorts. He walked around to the side of her house and knocked on her bedroom window. He could just see her lying in her bed in the dark bedroom. To his mild surprise, she lifted her head from her pillow almost as soon as he knocked. She must've still been awake despite the late hour.

She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, hurrying to the window to push it open. As soon as she stepped back, he lifted himself inside.

"Hey." he whispered as she stepped up to him, wrapping her arms around his midsection. His own tree trunk arms held her close to him, warming her cooler body. "Why are you still awake?" he whispered, pulling back enough to look down at her, one hand coming up to stroke her hair back from her face.

She didn't have to get her phone out. Her wide brown eyes shone with obvious worry. There was no way she'd be able to sleep knowing they were practicing fighting an army of vampires.

Jake sighed, knowing the news he brought with him wouldn't reassure her in the slightest. He silently lead her back to her bed, sitting down on the edge next to her.

"For starters, Brady and Collin are fine. They didn't do any actual fighting, Sam just wanted them to watch so they have some idea of what to do." he assured her. When she found out Brady and Collin would be attending the practice session, she'd near about thrown a fit, which was interesting to watch given she didn't actually say anything. Clearly her relationship with Brady had survived the test of time, and she'd even become close to Collin a bit, too.

She nodded, her muscles relaxing just a bit.

"Second,…after practice tonight, we discussed our plan. Everyone threw out a few different ideas until we finally came up with something _most_ of us agree on." 'Most' being the operative word.

Lilly gave him a look urging him to continue.

Jake sighed wearily, running a hand through his hair. "You're not gonna like it." he admitted first, which made Lilly tense up all over again. "Since the army's coming here, we're going to try and lead them to this clearing in the middle of the woods in Forks, far enough away from other people so that we can take care of them. We're going to try and lead them to the clearing by using yours and Bella's scents. Then,…they decided it would be safer for you and Bella to camp out up in the mountains, away from where the battle is going to be."

Lilly's brow furrowed as she wondered how her and Bella were going to get up into the mountains, and she had a feeling Jake was leaving that out for a reason. She grabbed her phone off the bedside table and typed her question out, showing it to Jake.

He read it and sighed. "That's the part you're not going to like. We're going to need to cover your guys' scents and find different paths to get up into the mountains so the army doesn't know where you are. To cover Bella's scent…it was decided that I'm going to carry her up the mountain to the campsite."

Lilly gritted her teeth. Jake was right, she didn't like this idea. She didn't like it whenever Bella and Jake were alone for long periods of time, because bad things happen whenever they were alone. But she took some comfort in the fact that Jake didn't seem very happy about it either.

"Lilly, that's not all." Jake interrupted her thoughts. "They decided that they need to cover your scent, too. And since your connection to the pack is the knowledge that's put you in danger we can't have a pack member carry you up the mountain."

Lilly really didn't like where this was going. But surely Jake wouldn't be stupid enough to agree to what she thought he was about to say, right?

"So, it was suggested that one of the Cullens carry you."

Lilly leapt off her bed, standing and staring down at Jake like he'd lost his mind. "Nuh uh." she shook her head firmly, her nostrils flaring at the very idea.

Jake sighed. "Believe me, I hate the idea as much as you do. But if one of the pack carry you up the mountain it would hardly cover your scent. And I can't risk even a hint of your scent reaching those bloodsuckers." Lilly crossed her arms, looking away like a pouting child. The thought of one of those vampires, no matter their diet, touching her gave her the chills and made her sick to her stomach.

Warm hands gently gripped her upper arms, the calluses chafing her skin in a soothing manner as he rubbed her arms. Jake gently pulled her into him, her crossed forearms pressing into his bare stomach.

"I wish it didn't have to be like this, trust me. I wish I could take you and run as far away as possible. But I can't leave my pack to fight this without me, and I need somewhere safe to leave you during the fight. My wolf would prefer it if you were on our territory, but logically I know that puts the rest of the reservation as risk. The leeches will never think to look for you up in that mountain. And Seth will be there to protect you, just in case."

Lilly nodded, her head falling against his chest. She may not like it, but she couldn't live with herself if she put her Gran or the other imprints in danger. If she had to, she'd lead the leeches to the other end of the world.

"Don't worry, sweetie. I promise you'll be okay. Cullen wouldn't dare hurt you, they all know the pack would kill them if he so much as scratched you." Jake swore, meaning every word. He'd make them all into the world's biggest bonfire if she was hurt.

Lilly lifted her head, giving him a small smile in appreciation. Jake grinned back. He lifted a hand to cup her jaw line, tilting her face up and pressing a short, firm kiss to her lips.

When they pulled away, Jake gently pushed her toward her bed. "Try and get some sleep, Lilly. It's late and we've got school tomorrow."

She sighed in defeat, doing as she was told. She climbed into bed and pulled her blanket around her lap, looking up at Jake. She tried not to blush, taking in his defined abs. The guys always walked around shirtless, and they were all about as impressive as Jake. Why didn't she get all flustered when she saw _them_ shirtless?!

Jake smirked as if he could read her mind, leaning over and tucking her blanket around her. "Sweet dreams, Lilly." he whispered, kissing her forehead.

She drifted off to sleep just at the mere touch of his warm lips on her skin, sending a wave of warmth and safety throughout her whole body.


	21. Chapter 21

**Before this chapter starts, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed for the last chapter. Also, I know a bunch of you aren't happy with the thought of Jake carrying Bella up the mountain, and a few suggested Seth doing it. I probably could've explained the plan better last chapter. Anyway, Seth wouldn't carry Bella because he'll be guarding them the next day, not the night before, and Jake will be camping out with Lilly.**

 **Also, a quick note for this chapter: there's a song that's mentioned soon and I would suggest listening to it so you have an idea what they're talking about. Just a suggestion though, obviously you don't have to. The song is** _ **I'm Gonna Love You**_ **by Jennifer Love Hewitt.**

On Wednesday, school dragged on slower than usual. Maybe it was because it was halfway through the week, maybe it was because it was the last night the pack really had to train for the battle, or maybe it was because Lilly knew that the next day a vampire would be carrying her up into the mountains to camp out with the girl she had come to hate more than anyone she'd ever met.

Lilly spent most of the afternoon at Emily's with the other imprints until dinner time, when she was forced to go home and eat. Dinner with Gran was a quiet affair, and Lilly knew her grandma was still coming to terms with what would be happening within the next couple days.

Like the few nights before, Lilly couldn't fall asleep, knowing Jake and most of the pack were training with the Cullens. Even though they'd assured her they didn't fight the Cullens and mostly watched, she still got nervous at the thought. So, she just sat up in bed with her bedside lamp on, her sketchpad in her lap and her laptop on her bed beside her, one earbud in her ear so she could listen to music. She was working on a new sketch of 'Her Wolf', silently wondering if she was becoming obsessed.

When one of her favorite songs began playing, she smiled. It was the song Jennifer Love Hewitt sang in _The Hunchback of Notre Dame II_ ; 'I'm Gonna Love You'. But this time, as Lilly listened to the lyrics of the song, she couldn't help making the connections to Jake. As cheesy as it sounded, it fit how she saw Jake perfectly.

A light tapping at her bedroom window brought her out of her thoughts. She barely had time to turn her head before her window was pushed up and Jake swung himself inside. She smiled at him, pausing her music and pulling her earbud out.

"Hey, you should at least be trying to sleep, you know." Jake grinned at her as he approached her bed. Lilly lifted her laptop and set it on her legs so he could sit on the edge and scooted up to sit next to her against the backboard.

She shrugged, leaning her head on his shoulder only to lift it again when he shifted to put his arm around her shoulders. She sighed, snuggling closer into his side, wanting the comfort as much as the warmth.

"Did you get that math homework done?" Jake asked casually, making Lilly smile. It was nice to have the normalcy amongst all the crazy supernatural stuff, even if it was math.

She nodded. Jake's eyes moved down a bit to see the sketchpad in her lap and pencil in her hand. He tilted his head a bit so he could look straight at the picture she was working on. She must've just started it, because it was little more than an outline of a wolf's face, one eye shaded in darker than the other, probably the part she'd been working on when he arrived.

"Is that me?" he asked curiously before he could stop himself.

Lilly looked down in embarrassment. After a few seconds, she nodded.

"It's really good. Some of the guys mentioned you're really good at drawing. Could…Could I maybe see one of your drawings sometime?" he asked nervously, not wanting to push some invisible line. His sister Rebecca had been an artist, still was, and growing up she didn't always like showing off her work to anyone outside of family.

Lilly hesitated for a few moments before she closed her sketchpad and handed it to him. Jake took it slowly, giving her time to back out if she chose, but she didn't. So, he placed it on his own lap and opened it to the first page.

All of her sketches were amazing. Most of them were simple pencil sketches and scenery, but a few of them had some color. There were sketches of First Beach, the ocean, the forest, flowers. About halfway through the book was when Jake saw the first sketch of himself. It was a simple, colored sketch of himself that almost looked like a reflection of his own wolf. There were two more after that, one of him howling and one of him growling.

"Wow." he breathed, turning the page to find a sketch of the woods behind Emily's house. "You're really good, Lilly. These are amazing. Where'd you learn to do this?"

Lilly shrugged in embarrassment, quickly pulling up a Word document on her laptop to type, _'I pretty much taught myself. I just love drawing.'_

Jake read the two, short sentences and smiled. "Well, you did an amazing job. I can easily see you doing this for a living."

Lilly looked down at her lap, his praise making warm butterflies in her tummy. Jake closed her sketchpad when he got back to the one she was working on and handed it back to her. She placed it on her bedside table to be out of the way.

"So, did anything fun happen at Em's?"

Lilly smiled widely, a chuckle escaping as she quickly deleted what she'd already typed on her laptop and began typing again.

 _'We were helping Emily bake a bunch of deserts. Kim was having issues opening the bag of flour and accidentally ripped it, and then it slipped out of her hands. When it hit the floor the flour swooshed up and covered her. She looked like a ghost!'_

Jake snorted and had to bury his face in her hair to muffle his laughter. Lilly pulled away from him just to grab her phone off her bedside table. She opened her pictures and showed him the picture she took of Kim standing sheepishly in Emily's kitchen, white flour covering her face, some of her hair, and the front of her shirt.

Jake's free hand flew up to cover his mouth, muffling his laughter again. If Jared didn't see this already, he was definitely showing it to him next time they were phased together.

"That's awesome." he laughed, trying to keep quiet. He didn't think Abby was aware he was visiting her granddaughter's bedroom in the middle of the night, but he didn't want to bring it to her attention.

Lilly giggled quietly, the green flecks in her eyes lighting up with mirth and her dimples appearing. Jake smiled at the sight before she turned her phone back off and placed it back on her bedside table.

As Lilly deleted the sentence she'd just typed on the document, Jake noticed the set of earbuds sitting on her stomach.

"What were you listening to?" he asked curiously.

Lilly blushed, remembering her thoughts on the song she'd been listening to when he arrived. The slight darkening of her cheeks only seemed to intrigue Jake even more, as he tilted his head and gave her a small smirk.

She sighed, handing him one earbud and putting the other one in her own ear as she brought her play list back up and hit play.

The song started from the beginning. Jake tilted his head a bit as he listened to the first chords. It was slow and melodic, kinda like a piano or a keyboard. When the woman started singing he didn't think he recognized the voice, but she was pretty good, if you like that kind of music. The song was slow and sounded a bit sad in a way.

He focused on the lyrics, his eyes traveling over to Lilly's face as he listened, noticing her cheeks seemed a bit darker and her face was tilted down with a small smile. Her obvious embarrassment made him curious as to what was special about this song. From what he could gather it was a love song.

By the end of the song, he had an idea why she was embarrassed showing him this song. Or at least, he hoped he did. Part of him, _most_ of him, really hoped this song made her think of him, but that would be too sappy, right? Too 'fairytale'-esque?

When the last note of the song faded out, Jake lifted a hand and brushed his knuckle down Lilly's cheek. "What's got you so embarrassed?" he asked teasingly, secretly putting a wall up inside. He couldn't get his hopes up, thinking that anyone, least of all the strong, amazing, beautiful girl that was Lilly Evangeline Fuller would think that highly of him.

Lilly bit her lip, peaking up at him from the corner of her eye. Jake was watching her intently, and she knew she wouldn't be able to get out of answering. Taking a deep breath, she minimized her play list and clicked on her Word document to type.

 _'Promise you won't laugh.'_ She looked over at him, her eyes giving away her nerves, and Jake realized he wasn't alone. Lilly was just as scared to put herself out there and risk getting hurt as he was.

He looked her straight in the eye, trying not to get distracted by the green flecks in her golden brown eyes.

"I promise." he answered seriously.

Lilly nodded slowly, turning back to her laptop to type out the sentence that would either embarrass her or maybe make their relationship a bit stronger.

 _'That song makes me think of you.'_

Jake sucked in a sharp breath, making Lilly look down. Jake's eyes snapped to her face, reading her expression. She looked even more scared, probably worried she did something wrong.

He hooked his knuckle under her chin, tilting her face up and to the side so she could look at him.

"Lilly,…I'm not upset. I just…I wanted you to say that." Lilly's breath caught, her eyes widening a bit. "When we were listening to that song, I kept thinking that maybe, just maybe, it made you think of me. I _wanted it to_. But I didn't want to get my hopes up. I couldn't believe anyone would feel that way about me, least of all you."

Lilly's lip trembled and she leaned into his chest, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. Jake wrapped her in his arms, scooting her closer to him as he buried his nose and mouth in the top of her head.

Lilly couldn't help thinking in that moment that Jake was crazy. Any girl would be lucky to have someone like him. Sure, he had his faults, everyone does, but despite everything he'd been through, he was still just a kid. He was only sixteen and he's had to shoulder so much in his life; his mother's death, taking care of his dad when he was barely a teenager, having his heart broken by the girl he loved, and then turning into a giant wolf. When it came down to it, he was strong, fiercely loyal, cheerful, and kind. He at least deserved someone to love him unconditionally, faults and all.

They sat like that for a few minutes before Jake pointed out they should try and get some sleep.

"I'll patrol a bit outside your house if you want." Jake offered as he stood up. Lilly put her laptop on her bedside table, but frowned, not liking the idea of him losing more sleep than necessary, especially with the battle coming up on Friday.

She bit her lip, looking anxiously up at him. Jake looked at her, curious about what was going through her head.

Debating for only one more second, Lilly held her hand out to him. Jake eyed it curiously for a second before taking it in his own hand. She gave it a tug, even though she knew she'd never be able to pull him.

"You…want me to stay?" he checked. She nodded, trying not to be too shy. "In your bed?" he added, giving her the chance to back out. She nodded again, this time more firmly. "Are you sure?"

Lilly sighed in exasperation, pulling hard on his hand and leaning almost out of her bed. Jake chuckled, giving in and climbing into her small bed and under the covers next to her. The twin-sized bed was not only small in width, meaning Jake took up about half the bed just on his side, but it was also short in length so he had to bend his knees to keep his feet from hanging off the end.

After moving and shifting around for a minute, they found a fairly comfortable position with Jake spooning Lilly from behind, his enormous body curving around hers. One of Jake's arms was tucked under his head on the pillow with his other draped over Lilly's waist, holding her close with her hands curled into her chin.

When Lilly's breathing was starting to even out, showing she was almost asleep, Jake kissed the back of her head, whispering into her hair, "Goodnight."


	22. Chapter 22

Lilly checked items off her list as she took them from their spot laid out on her bed to pack in her large duffel bag. Gloves, extra thick socks, a warm long-sleeved shirt, sweatpants, a hat _and_ earmuffs, a flashlight, a pillow and blanket, her phone, and lastly, of course, her sketchpad and pencil. Jake said most everything else would be taken care of by him and the pack.

"Lilly! Jacob's here!" her Gran called from the living room. Lilly double-checked she had everything, most of which her Gran insisted upon since the temperature was supposed to drop due to a huge snowstorm later in the night.

Seeing that she had everything, she zipped up her bag, swung it over her shoulder, and hurried out the door. When she turned the corner into the living room, it was to see her Gran standing mere inches away from Jake, looking up at him with one fist on her hip and her other hand pointing up at him.

"Now, you listen to me Jacob Ephraim Black. If my granddaughter comes home with so much as a scratch, I will kill you and then I'll hunt down every one of those Cullens and kill them. Understand?" she threatened firmly.

Jake nodded seriously, no sign of fear or amusement or anything on his face. "I understand, Abby. I'll protect her with my life, I promise."

"You better." Abby grumbled, stepping back when she noticed Lilly enter the room.

Jake gave Lilly a slight smile. "Here, I'll take that out to my car." he offered, taking her duffel bag off her shoulder and walking out the front door.

Lilly turned to her grandma and gave her a tight hug. Abby clutched her tighter than she ever had before, her hand holding the back of Lilly's head to keep her close. When they finally pulled away, Abby kissed Lilly's temple, pushing her hair back from her face.

"You be careful now, okay? Listen to the pack, they'll protect you."

Lilly nodded, her face serious. When Abby finally let her go, she put on her winter coat and met Jake outside where his Rabbit was parked in front of the house. He was leaning back against her door with his arms crossed over his chest. He smiled at her as she approached.

"You ready to go?" he asked, standing straight up and letting his arms drop to his sides. Lilly nodded, smiling when Jake kissed her cheek. He opened the door for her, which of course made her blush, before he rounded the car to get in on his own side.

They drove to Sam's, where the pack and imprints were supposed to meet for a bit. The imprints were spending the night at Sam's and most of the pack would either be sleeping at Sam's or in their own homes, alternating a few times during the night to patrol the area.

When they entered the house, it was already filled to the brim with tall native guys and a few girls.

"Lilly!" Kim's voice shouted over the several other loud voices before she ducked and squeezed her way through the mass to throw her arms around Lilly's neck. Lilly grunted when the air was forced from her lungs, but hugged Kim back tightly.

Waves of heat surrounded the two girls and when they pulled back Lilly realized a few of the guys had moved to surround them. Embry, Brady, and Seth were waiting patiently for Kim to step back before she was swept up in a tight hug from Embry. She laughed, her legs dangling off the floor as she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck to keep from falling.

"Be careful out there, Lil. Jared and I'll be taking stuff up to the campsite while you're stinking up the woods, so we can get your tent set up and everything." he informed her, setting her back on her feet.

Seth gave her a quick hug before going back to snag some food from Emily. Brady stepped up and gave her a tight hug.

"I wish I could be out there protecting you, Lil." he mumbled. He was still really bummed about having to sit out the fight with Collin. They'd be staying by Emily's house to protect the imprints, which was really Sam giving them something to do so they wouldn't be in the fight.

Lilly sighed, patting Brady's back in reassurance. When they pulled back she reached up and tugged on the short strands that used to be his bangs before him and Collin had their hair chopped off. Brady laughed, trying to move his head out of her reach.

Lilly laughed with him before an arm wrapped around her waist from behind, pulling her into a solid chest. She didn't have to look over her shoulder to know it was Jake.

"We'd better head to the clearing." Jake announced, wishing he could give his imprint just a few more minutes of peaceful fun with her cousin, but they were already running a bit late.

Sam nodded at Jake. "Jake's right. Brady, Seth; remember to relieve Collin and Leah from patrol in ten minutes." the two kids nodded.

"Embry, Jared; you two can start taking the camping stuff up the campsite." Emily announced from her position at the stove, a blue cooler at her feet on the kitchen floor. She hurried over to give Lilly and Jake tight hugs before going back to her food. "Jake, you can leave Lilly's bag here so they can take it up. And Sam, could you send one or two of your group back here when you're done to take the rest of the stuff up there?"

"Sure thing, Em." Sam nodded, kissing her cheek before leading the way out the back door. Jake lead Lilly after him, followed by Quil and Paul.

When they entered the trees, the guys split off in different directions to strip and phase. Jake turned to Lilly and tucked some hair behind her ear.

"I'll be right back, okay?"

She nodded with a small smile, completely calm. They'd already discussed how she'd be getting to the clearing. She wasn't the slightest bit nervous about getting a wolf-back ride from Her Wolf.

Within a few minutes, the familiar russet brown fur of Her Wolf peaked through the trees as Jake approached her. She smiled even wider and hurried toward the giant wolf. When she reached him, she looked him right in the eye for a moment before stepping closer and wrapping her arms around his thick, furry neck. There was a deep rumbling in his chest, which almost sounded like purring. Lilly giggled at the thought before pulling back.

Jake nuzzled her cheek with his cold nose before turning and crouching down. Lilly stepped back and climbed onto his back like a horse. Once Jake was sure she had a secure grip on his fur he turned and wove through the trees at a trot. When he met up with Sam, Quil, and Paul the four fell into a formation with Sam in the lead and Quil and Paul flanking Jake. Then, they picked up their pace until they were practically flying through the trees.

Soon, Jake and Paul slowed to a stop and separated just far enough to phase in privacy while Sam and Quil continued. They'd be meeting the Cullens in the clearing while Jake and Paul stayed with Lilly as she left a trail to the clearing. Lilly stood alone in the trees for all of fifteen seconds before Jake was back at her side in his cutoffs and taking her hand in his. Paul joined them seconds later and they began walking. Lilly walked alongside Jake with Paul a few feet ahead of them, letting her hands, arms, and legs brush the bushes and leaves, leaving her scent behind as best she could.

About fifteen minutes later, Lilly knew by the way Jake's grip tightened a bit on her hand that they were approaching the clearing. Her suspicions were confirmed when they stepped out of the trees and into a large meadow. Sam and Quil were standing in wolf form near the center of the open space, several meters away from the Cullen clan. Edward and Bella were approaching the group from the trees opposite of Jake and Lilly, just getting back from leaving Bella's own trail.

Jake released Lilly's hand so he could hold her close with his arm around her waist, his eyes glaring holes in Edward's head. They stopped near Sam and Quil, and Lilly realized Paul had left. She didn't know Sam had told him to go back to Emily's to help set up the campsite. When she looked up at Jake she realized he was still glaring at Edward, who stopped with Bella halfway between the wolves and the Cullens.

Lilly lifted her hand and placed it gently on his cheek, making him look down at her. His eyes softened significantly as he stared down into her eyes.

"You'll be okay. It'll be over before you know it, I promise, and then I'll meet you up in the campsite." he leaned a bit closer, his forehead coming to rest on hers, "And I promise, I will not be enjoying carrying Bella in the slightest. I'm Your Wolf and you're my imprint. I only want you, little Flower."

Lilly tilted her head a bit, a smile tugging at her lips as her brow furrowed curiously.

Jake smiled sheepishly. "What? Everyone else has little nicknames for you, like Lil and Water Lilly. I needed a cute nickname that only I can call you. So, Flower."

Lilly laughed breathily, hardly any sound coming out as she tilted her head up, their lips brushing sweetly.

"Can we go now?" Bella demanded loudly. Jake pulled back with a scowl while Lilly gave Edward a nervous glance. She still wasn't thrilled with the idea of being carried by him.

Jake and Lilly stepped forward a few paces until they were a few feet away from Bella and Edward. Lilly could feel herself trembling, but she tried with every ounce of self-control to suppress it, which meant her muscles were extremely tense. Jake rested a hand on her back, looking worriedly down at her.

Bella glared at her. "Would you stop looking at him like that?! He's not going to hurt you!"

Jake glared at Bella before turning Lilly around so her back was to the leeches and she was facing him, his hands on her shoulders. "Lilly, sweetie I promise you're safe. He won't risk breaking the Treaty by hurting you." Jake's eyes stayed fixed on Lilly, but his thoughts were only for Edward. _'I'm warning you, Leech. Hurt her and I'll rip you apart, wait for you to rebuild yourself, and then rip you apart all over again.'_

Edward nodded slightly to ensure he heard. Jake pressed one more kiss to Lilly's forehead before turning her around.

Taking a deep breath, Lilly slowly approached Edward. She glanced over to see Jake scoop Bella up in his arms. Jealousy started to burn in her belly until he turned and gave her a wink. Lilly smiled as Jake turned and walked away into the trees with a bored expression.

Edward turned and crouched with his back to Lilly, and he carefully helped her onto his back. She shivered, both from the cold and the thought of what he was. As he sped away, the wind whipping her hair back, she quickly ducked her head and closed her eyes. She would've buried her face in his shoulder, but she didn't want to touch him anymore than necessary and she didn't want to break her nose by smacking her face into his stone-like shoulder. When she remembered he could read her mind, she quickly began reciting all 50 states in Alphabetical order in her mind. _'Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California…'_

She went through all 50 states about three times before she felt Edward slow to a walk. She carefully peaked her eyes open and saw that they were leaving the trees and entering a small clearing. Against the cliff face there were two tents set up several meters from each other. One was a white tent that looked big enough to fit at least three people and their belongings. The other tent was blue and smaller, looking cozy enough for two people, and there was a large, gray wolf with black spots laying next to it.

Edward stopped and crouched down so Lilly could slide off his back. She wrapped her arms around herself and hurried past him toward Embry. The lean, gray wolf lifted his head when she approached, his tail wagging against the pine needles covering the ground. When she reached him, Lilly turned and plopped down on the ground next to him, snuggling into his side to keep warm. After being on a vampire's back she was cold, and the crisp wind up in the mountains certainly didn't help.

Embry shifted a bit onto his side so he could curl himself around her, surrounding her with warmth and sheltering her from the wind. They sat like that for about ten minutes before Embry lifted his head and looked expectantly into the trees on the other side of the clearing. Lilly followed his eyes in time to see Jake enter the clearing with Bella still cradled to his chest.

Lilly again had to fight down a surge of jealousy, until Jake let one of his arms drop out from under Bella's legs. He barely kept his arm around her back long enough for her to steady herself before he jogged across the clearing toward Lilly and Embry.

Lilly quickly stood up and barely took three steps in his direction before he swept her up in his arms, spinning her around once. He set her back on her feet, his hands traveling to her waist to hold her still, his nose sniffing at her head and neck.

Lilly giggled, the warm air tickling her skin. Her own hands moved from his shoulders to his forearms, holding onto him. Once Jake was satisfied that she was unharmed, he sighed, pulling her in tight to him.

"Thanks for sitting with her, Em. You can start your rounds now if you want." Jake spoke over Lilly's shoulder, pulling back from the hug. Lilly looked over her shoulder to see Embry nod, standing up and trotting into the trees.

Jake jerked his head towards the tent. "Come on. Lets get in the tent. They should have everything we need already set up inside."

Lilly nodded and crawled into the tent ahead of him. The whole floor was covered in a ratty old quilt, probably to prevent the cold from the ground seeping into their sleeping bag, which was large enough for them both to sleep in it. Lilly's bag was sitting on the sleeping bag, a battery powered lantern was sitting in the corner, and two coolers, one large and one small, were off to the side.

Lilly situated herself on the sleeping bag, crossing her legs as Jake crawled over to the coolers, peaking inside of them.

"Okay, the small one has drinks, the big one has food. Ooh! Emily made cookies." Jake announced, still looking through the bigger one. Lilly giggled at his childishness. "She also made us a whole pot of chili, which is being kept warm in here. You want some now or later?"

Lilly thought about it, but her stomach voiced it's answer before she could. Jake smirked at her, only for his own stomach to do the same. He chuckled. "I guess that answers that question, huh?"

Lilly nodded as Jake began scooping chili into a bowl, handing it to Lilly before getting his own.

They sat comfortably in the tent, which was warming up a bit with Jake's body heat filling the enclosed space. After Lilly ate two bowls and Jake was finishing his seventh, Lilly crawled back over to the large cooler, lifting the lid. She looked thoughtfully at the pot inside. There was at least enough leftover for three bowls, and she'd heard howls a few times earlier that suggested one of the pack was patrolling the campsite. The cold, whistling wind that kept tugging at the tent made her feel bad that one of the guys was currently out in the cold, even though they don't get cold.

Coming to a decision, Lilly grabbed one of the extra spoons in the cooler and carefully picked up the crock pot.

"Lilly? What are you doing?" Jake asked curiously.

She stood up, carefully lifting the crock pot with her. She shifted it into one hand, her arm wrapping around it since it wasn't hot anymore. She pointed outside. Jake looked confused, but Lilly didn't have her phone in her hand to tell him. He got up anyway, unzipping the tent flap for her and stepping out first. Lilly followed and walked a little ways towards the trees, stopping far enough that Jake wouldn't freak out. She had to squint against the sharp, icy wind and snowflakes biting into her cheeks.

She let out a sharp whistle, similar to the one she used on Dash. She waited a few moments before letting out another one. She was about to do it a third time when she heard the familiar crunch of multiple feet in the snow and bushes.

A second later, a dark brown wolf stepped out of the trees, his fur melting away from the shadows. It was hard to see him very well when it was dark and the snow was blowing around, but the area around his eyes looked darker than the rest of him, like he had a mask around his eyes.

Lilly looked over her shoulder, finding Jake standing right behind her. She lifted the pot up a bit, hoping he'd understand. Jake's eyes lit with understanding and a smile slipped onto his face.

Turning back to his pack brother, Jake spoke. "Hey Jared, we've got some leftover chili if you want some. Think you can take a few minutes to eat?"

Jared tilted his head for a second before nodding and backing into the trees. Jake put his arm around Lilly, drawing her close to his side to keep her warm while they waited for Jared to return. After a few moments, he came jogging from the trees in cutoffs and with a huge grin.

"Thanks Lilly. Sam said I can take a five minute break to eat, but I've gotta stay outside just in case." Jared explained, taking the pot from Lilly's hands.

"No problem. Just leave it outside the tent when you're done and I'll get it. Have a good patrol." Jake answered, giving Lilly a gentle tug toward the tent.

"Thanks. You guys have a good night, too." Jared grinned, already shoveling the warm chili into his mouth.

"That was really nice of you." Jake noted quietly when they got back in the tent, Jake zipping the flap up behind them. Lilly blushed, rubbing her hands together to try and warm them up.

They spent the next couple hours mostly resting. Lilly worked on one of her sketches and Jake watched from over her shoulder, resting on top of their sleeping bag. The wind outside seemed to grow louder, yanking at the tiny tent.

Lilly was hunched over her legs, her sketchpad in her lap. She really wanted to finish the picture that night, but Jake decided to intervene when he noticed her hands were shaking so bad that a few of her lines got messed up.

"Okay, I think that's enough for tonight, Flower. You're shivering. Lets get in the sleeping bag." Jake suggested, sitting up and patting her on the back.

Lilly sighed in defeat, placing her sketchpad back in her duffel bag. Sliding back, she lifted the top of the sleeping bag over her legs so she could scoot down inside. Once she was situated, Jake climbed in next to her. The sleeping bag was big enough that they could both fit, but they were slightly squished together. Though, neither of them were complaining; Jake got to hold Lilly close without being weird, and Lilly got to keep warm.

Lilly snuggled closer to Jake, her head resting on his chest with his arms wrapped around her back and waist. Lilly was relieved that it only took a few minutes for her tense, cold body to relax, Jake's body heat seeping into her muscles and bones. It was very easy for her to start drifting off when she was cocooned in such amazing warmth.

Jake's lips pressed to her hairline, his breath tickling her hair. "Sweet dreams, Flower."

XXX

A low rumbling woke Lilly what seemed like minutes later. It sounded like…thunder? Scrunching up her face at being woken up, Lilly forced her heavy eyelids to peak open. She was still in the tent, wrapped up in Jake's arms in their sleeping bag. The rumbling sound…was coming from directly below her ear. Jake was growling.

Peaking up, she saw Jake glaring and even baring his teeth at something. When Lilly followed his eyes, she found her answer. Edward was peaking his head in their tent. The sight of him made Lilly tense a little bit, but Jake instinctively ran his hand up and down her back to sooth her.

"Jacob, please. I wouldn't be asking if it weren't completely necessary." Edward was pleading.

"Absolutely not. Your _family_ picked this damn campsite, knowing full well there was a storm coming." Jake snarled, sneering the word 'family', "My whole pack told you it would get this cold. You should've been more prepared if you were going to bring your 'mate' up here."

"Jacob, she's freezing to death and I can't do anything to help her."

"That's your problem. Have one of your coven bring her a space heater or something. I'm not leaving Lilly here to freeze by herself just to keep Bella warm."

Lilly listened to their discussion with a mild guilt festering in her stomach. As much as she hated Bella, freezing to death would be a horrible way to go. And even if she didn't _die_ , she could get frostbite or something. She could lose her fingers or toes.

 _'I can't believe I'm doing this.'_ she thought to herself as she pressed her hand against Jake's chest.

Jake stopped arguing with Cullen and looked down at Lilly. She pushed at his chest and jerked her head toward Edward.

Jake's eyes widened just as Edward translated, "She wants you to do it."

"I know what she wants." Jake snapped, glaring at Edward before looking back down at his imprint. "Lilly, I'm not leaving you here by yourself. If I go, you have to come with me."

Lilly's face crunched up in disgust, her head shaking vigorously. There was no way in hell she was spending the rest of the night in a tent with a vampire and _Bella_. That was simply not happening.

"I'm not leaving you in here alone." Jake stated firmly before he leaned closer and whispered pleadingly, " _Please_ don't leave me alone in there with them! I'm begging you! I'll protect you in their tent, but please don't make me go in there alone!"

Lilly tried to stifle her snicker, but ultimately failed. Sighing in defeat, she nodded and scooted back. The two got up and followed Edward across the clearing to his tent, Jake carrying their sleeping bag. The icy wind cut into Lilly's cheeks and she wrapped her arms around herself to preserve some of her body heat.

Inside the other, larger tent it was warmer than outside, obviously, but it was significantly colder than Jake and Lilly's tent was. Lilly felt a small sliver of pity worm its way into her belly when she saw Bella curled up in her sleeping bag, lips blue and body shivering.

Jake laid their sleeping bag out right next to Bella's so that the sides with zippers were touching. Lilly climbed in first and scooted as far in as possible so Jake could slip in next to her, putting himself between Lilly and Bella. Bella instantly scooted closer to his heat and pressed herself against his bare back.

Lilly tried to stamp down on her jealousy, knowing she had no reason to feel that way. Especially since Jake had pulled her closer to him, snuggling her into his chest. Peaking over his shoulder, Lilly saw Edward just sitting in the far corner of the tent, staring at Bella as she drifted back off to sleep. A shiver ran up Lilly's spine at the thought of a vampire watching her sleep. How could Bella stand it? At least the few times Jake stayed in Lilly's room with her, they both slept, Jake didn't lie awake all night watching her.

Jake's warm lips pressed to the top of Lilly's head, his breath tickling her hair. "Get some sleep, sweetheart." he whispered into her hair.

Lilly smiled, cuddling closer and pressing her head under Jake's chin before drifting off to sleep.

 **XXX**

 **There's chapter 22! Sorry to those of you who were excited for the battle, but that will be in the next chapter. And sadly, there are only a few chapters left to this story. : ( HOWEVER! I have been working on a sequel which I plan to post when this story is complete. I'm still working on a good title for it.**


	23. Chapter 23

The next morning, Jake and Lilly left the tent to find the sun trying to peak out from between the clouds and a fresh layer of snow covering the ground. It was no longer windy or storming, and the temperature was no longer below freezing.

They walked several meters away from Edward and Bella's tent, so they were near the edge of the trees by their own tent. Lilly unintentionally clung to Jake's hands as they stood facing each other, knowing he would have to leave soon.

After several moments of silence, Jake sighed, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair that had fallen out of Lilly's braid behind her ear. He'd braided her hair for her before they left the tent. "I'm not going to make promises I can't keep. I can't promise that no one will get hurt, but I'll do whatever I can to make sure everyone comes home."

Lilly nodded, refusing to cry. She couldn't upset Jake before the battle, because then he wouldn't be focused.

Jake searched her eyes, his expression intense. Finally, he sighed. "Lilly,…there's something I have to tell you…I need you to know it before I leave for this battle."

His eyes dropped to the ground, his eyes searching as if his answer would be in the snow. "I'm not all the way there yet, I mean, that'd be dumb because we only just started dating. But I know I'll get there someday…"

He was rambling, and Lilly was beyond confused. _'What on earth is he talking about?'_ she wondered.

When Jake looked up and found her staring at him in confusion, he deflated, his shoulders dropping. "Lilly,…I'm sorry I fought the imprint. For the rest of my life that will always be my biggest regret, unless I mess up even worse, which I can't see happening. This," he gestured between their bodies, "is the best thing that's ever happened to me. Meeting you, getting to know you,…Most guys in sappy romance books and movies pledge their undying love or something before they go into a war or battle. Obviously, we only went on our first date not even a full week ago, that would be rushing it just a little bit. But…honestly, I can easily see myself loving you. Heck, I think I can _feel_ myself falling in love with you." Jake swallowed, "I just…wanted you to know that."

Lilly stared up at him, her lips parted in shock. Her eyes were stinging with tears at everything he just said. It was, hands down, the most romantic thing she'd ever heard, watched, or read. And she knew she felt the same way. She didn't necessarily love him yet, but she knew she cared about him, and she could feel herself falling for him, too.

She scrabbled to pull her phone out of her pocket, wanting to tell him how she felt, too. But before she could type anything Jake's hand closed over the phone and her hands.

"I didn't say it hoping for a response, Lilly. I said it because I wanted to. I don't want to see the words back on a phone screen. Whenever you're ready to say it, I'd like to hear it from your voice." he said gently.

Lilly smiled, nodding in consent.

"Jake!" Bella's voice bounced off the cliff face as she stumbled toward them, tripping over rocks and twigs. "Jake, don't go!" she pleaded when she reached them.

"What?" Jake asked in bewilderment.

"Don't go fight, please! You can stay here with us! Clearly Lilly doesn't really love you if she's willing to let you risk your life like this!"

Jake growled, standing up to his full height and tugging Lilly back so his shoulder was between her and Bella.

"No, Lilly knows that I need to fight because I refuse to let my brothers and sister fight this battle without me. I can't sit on the sidelines while they're fighting. I need to have their backs, because I know they'll always have mine. Lilly's not trying to stop me because she knows how important it is for me to fight." Jake argued.

Lilly looked down, silently noting that he practically read her mind. While she was terrified of him going into battle against vampires, she knew she couldn't stop him. She was scared for the whole pack, not just him, and she knew that their best chance was to have all their best fighters on the battlefield. That meant having Jake in the thick of it.

Jake turned his back on Bella, looking down at Lilly with one hand on the side of her neck, his thumb stroking her jaw line.

"Lilly, I've gotta go now. You stay with Seth, and I'll be back for you when we win the fight." Jake told her seriously, nodding his head behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, Lilly saw a small, sandy-brown wolf step out of the trees toward them, tail wagging slowly.

She smiled at the wolf before turning back to Jake just in time for him to press a firm, long kiss to her lips. Her hands itched to grab the back of his neck and fist his hair, holding him close and keeping him from leaving, but she refrained and he pulled away after several moments. They stood there, foreheads pressed together and brown eyes staring into brown eyes with green flecks. Finally, Jake's eyes shifted away from hers. He pulled away and looked at Seth, his hand still holding Lilly's cheek.

"Protect my girl, Seth." Jake ordered. Seth yipped in response, stepping forward and nudging Lilly's opposite shoulder with his nose. He was at least a few inches shorter than Jake and a bit on the scrawny side, his feet oversized compared to the rest of him.

Jake pressed one more kiss to Lilly's forehead before turning and jogging to the opposite side of the clearing. He slowed near the trees and turned around, still walking backward.

"Bye Flower!" he called with a grin, giving a wave. Lilly blushed, failing to suppress her smile as she waved back. She tried to ignore the tightening in her chest when he turned and disappeared from her sight.

Fuming, Bella stomped the few steps it took to be right in Lilly's face. "How could you?! How could you let him leave? Don't you understand how dangerous it is?! He could get hurt!"

Seth snarled, stepping forward and putting himself between the two girls. Edward was quick to pull Bella away, whispering into her ear for her to calm down. Bella continued to glare at Lilly as Edward lead her a few feet away. Lilly ignored her, following Seth when he nudged her toward their small tent. Seth circled a few times and plopped down in the snow next to the tent and Lilly sat down next to him, snuggling into his warm fur and trying to pretend Jake was with her, safe and sound.

They all waited in tense silence for several minutes, Seth and Edward staring blankly into space, probably listening to the pack and Cullens' thoughts. Finally, Edward said the one phrase that Lilly had been dreading.

"It's starting."

Lilly tensed and pressed even closer to Seth, keeping her eye on the young wolf's face to see if he would give some kind of facial expression about what was happening. After a few moments of his eyes just staring, he seemed to growl with satisfaction. Maybe something good happened?

"Jacob just got there." Edward announced suddenly. Lilly's breath hitched in her throat, her eyes flying from Edward back to Seth. "He's good."

Lilly wanted to relax at that statement, but that was physically impossible.

Tense silence fell over them again for several minutes. The only indications that Edward and Seth were still watching a fierce battle was that Lilly could feel Seth tensing against her, and then relaxing a bit a few seconds later.

Suddenly, Edward and Seth both went tense, Seth jumping to his feet with a quiet growl. Lilly almost tumbled over without him holding her up, but managed to stay sitting upright. She looked up worriedly.

"Someone's hurt?" Bella demanded.

"She's close. I can hear her thoughts." Edward announced in distress. He turned to Seth. "Seth, go."

Seth growled, quickly nudging Lilly to her feet and shoving her toward Bella and Edward before he turned and leapt up a rock, disappearing among the trees. Bella was quick to hide behind Edward, clinging to his arm while Lilly stayed about a foot away from them. She knew she'd be safest staying near Edward, but she wasn't about to cuddle up next to him.

"She knew we weren't there. She caught my scent. She knew you'd be with me. And she could just pick up Lilly's scent under mine." Edward announced, making Lilly tense even more, wrapping her arms around her stomach to ward off a panic attack. "She's not alone."

Movement among the trees made Lilly's head snap up. A man was calmly walking out of the trees. Lilly suppressed a gasp. It was the same vampire that attacked her in the woods. Riley Biers.

"Riley, listen to me." Edward ordered as Riley walked closer, "Victoria is just using you to distract me. She knows I'll kill you."

A thump made Lilly flinch. The redhead had leapt down from a nearby tree.

"Don't listen Riley." she spoke quietly, "I told you about their mind tricks."

"I can read her mind. So I know what she thinks of you."

"He's lying."

Lilly briefly closed her eyes as the two began talking back and forth, trying to get Riley to their own side. It was enough to make her own head spin. Hearing a rustle off to the side, she glanced over and immediately took a step closer to Edward. Another red-eyed vampire, this one was matted blonde hair and large muscles, was peaking out of the bushes at her.

Finally, Riley took a step forward, his red eyes fixed on Edward.

"You're dead."

He lunged forward only for a loud roar to be let up into the sky as Seth leapt from the bushes, ripping Riley out of the sky and slamming him into the ground.

Everyone watched, Lilly trying not to panic at the sight of innocent little Seth tearing into the vampire. His jaws were clamped onto Riley's arm until, with a loud screech like nails on a chalkboard, he ripped Riley's hand off. Lilly flinched at the ear-piercing scream of pain.

The blonde leech rushed Edward, slamming into him while the redhead lunged toward Bella and Lilly. The two girls scrambled to get away, Bella accidentally pushing Lilly to the ground in her haste to get away.

Edward lifted the blonde leech and threw him into the redhead, knocking her away from Bella and Lilly. Disoriented and sitting on the ground, Lilly scooted backwards until her back hit the cliff face. The fights were happening so fast she couldn't keep up. Edward was back in a grapple with the redhead and Seth had disappeared in the trees wrestling Riley. Unfortunately, the blonde leech had spotted Lilly backed against the rocks. With a twisted smirk, he slowly approached her.

Lilly's breath came in quick gasps as she tried to press herself as close to the cliff as possible. She wanted to scream, she needed to scream for help, but her voice was lodged in her throat. The blonde was only a few feet away from her when Seth flew out of the trees, leaping in front of her. He snapped at the leech and managed to claw long gashes into the leech's stone chest.

A pale blur flew out of nowhere and slammed into Seth, sending the wolf flying out of the way until he slammed into a tree. Lilly flinched violently at the loud crunch as his back bent against the trunk. Then his body dropped limply to the snow. Lilly whimpered, her eyes fixed on Seth, silently begging for him to move.

Her head snapped up to see now the blonde vampire as well as an older, bald one staring down at her. She looked back over at Seth, he still wasn't moving. She didn't care about herself, she just wanted to see him move. She wanted to scream for him to get up, plead with him. He couldn't be dead. He was only up here so he wouldn't be in the fight. He was only a kid.

When she looked back up in front of her, the blonde vampire had disappeared, leaving the bald one to smirk down at her. He took a few steps closer to her.

Just over the vampire's shoulder, Lilly saw a russet wolf fly across the clearing. His jaws snapped down on the leech's shoulder, ripping his arm off. Jake turned so that his back was to Lilly, putting himself between her and the leech as he ripped the bald head from the body.

Lilly relaxed, but movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. The blonde vamp had circled around and was now approaching Jake from behind. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as Lilly's head snapped around, trying to find someone who could notice the vampire sneaking up on Jake.

Seth was trying to get up now, whimpers escaping him whenever he moved, but his back was to them. He couldn't see that Jake was about to be sneak attacked. Edward was still wrestling with the redhead, each trying to rip the other's head off. And Bella was too busy watching Edward's fight to pay attention to Jake. No one was paying attention.

Panic bubbled up in Lilly's chest as her eyes moved from the leech to Jake. It seemed to bubble up through her chest and into her throat until it exploded from her.

"JAKE!"

Jake's head snapped up from where he'd been tearing the leech apart. His wide, shocked eyes barely landed on her before he noticed the blonde leech just as it lunged for him. Jake reared up and caught the leech in his jaws, ripping his head and arm right from his body.

Lilly slouched back against the cliff only for Riley to leap out of the tree from above and land right on Jake's back. Jake snapped his head around, trying to bite down on the vampire, but Riley got his arms around Jake's body. Snaps and crunches filled the air, followed by Jake's yelp.

Two small wolves, one sandy-brown and the other light gray, raced over and ripped the leech off Jake's back. Lilly ignored the wolves tearing the vampire apart; her eyes watched in horror as Jake dropped to the ground.

She hurried to her feet and ran to him as his fur melted away. His yelps turned to screams of pain as he transformed into his human self. Lilly dropped to her knees at his side, only just realizing she was crying his name.

Jake's screams slowly died on his lips as he laid panting on the ground, sweat starting to form on his skin. He slowly blinked his eyes open from where they'd been squeezed shut in pain. His dark, glistening eyes found her, and through the pain Lilly could see other, happier emotions.

"You talked." he breathed, his voice raspy from screaming.

Lilly laughed tearfully, barely stopping a sob from escaping as she nodded. "Yeah." she agreed, her own voice a bit scratchy. She reached up and brushed his black hair back from his eyes. Jake shifted but winced, his jaw clenching as he gritted his teeth. "Are you okay?" she asked worriedly, even though she knew that was a stupid question.

Jake smiled wryly up at her. "I've been better." he admitted.

Lilly smiled sadly again. Licking her lips nervously, she brushed her thumb against his cheek. "For the record, I think I'm falling in love with you, too." she whispered so only he could hear.

The pain in Jake's expression diminished slightly, his eyes lighting up and his smile becoming less pained.

"Jake!"

A body slammed into Lilly, shoving her to the side as Bella crouched next to Jake. He snarled loudly in protest, though the action caused him more pain and he winced.

"Hey! Back off, Swan!" Leah yelled, storming over in a tank top and shorts, Seth right on her heels. Edward quickly pulled Bella away, and that was when Lilly realized there was a large fire nearby with purple smoke, and no more red-eyed vampires.

"The rest of your pack saw what happened through Seth and Leah's thoughts." Edward announced warily, "They're on their way now, since all the newborns are dead. My family is aware of what happened up here. We need to return to the clearing to meet the Volturi, but afterwards Carlisle will meet you at Jacob's house to help him."

Seth and Leah nodded tensely, but Lilly ignored them and scooted closer to Jake, holding his hand gently in hers. Edward and Bella left, and it was only about five minutes before the sound of the pack racing toward them could be heard. Their stomping and rustling fell silent for a few moments before they came hurrying across the clearing in human form, most of them still pulling their shorts on as they ran.

Seth gently tugged Lilly's arm until she stood up and stepped back with him, letting the pack surround their pack brother.

Sam crouched by Jake's shoulder, looking him over for a moment. "Alright, we'll carry him carefully to the bottom of the mountain. We'll meet Jared with his truck and put Jake in the bed to get him to Billy's."

The rest of the guys nodded, for once no one smiling or joking. The situation was too close for comfort. As one, they stepped forward and gently lifted Jake onto their shoulders. Lilly watched with a pained expression when she saw Jake grit his teeth and grimace, whimpering in pain. Seth, Sam, Embry, Paul, and Quil carefully began carrying him across the clearing, and Lilly followed anxiously, wanting to be near Jake in case he needed her.

She didn't notice she wasn't walking alone until she realized the heat near her arm wasn't her imagination. Looking up, she realize Leah was walking next to her.

Leah glanced at Lilly, giving no explanation or reason as to why she was walking with her until several minutes later as the pack was carefully maneuvering around boulders and trees as they made their way down the mountain.

"I was rooting for him, you know." she spoke suddenly, making Lilly tear her eyes from Jake's body to the tall she-wolf at her side. Her voice was quiet when she continued, trying to get some privacy from the guys up ahead. "When Jake first imprinted and tried fighting it, I was rooting for him. Just to prove to everyone that it was possible. To prove that Sam could've at least tried to fight for me." she paused to offer Lilly a hand stepping down from a pile of boulders. When they were walking again, she continued.

"But then I saw how much it changed him. I knew enough about Jacob from when we were younger that he was a happy kid. Practically nothing could bring him down. Then this wolf crap happened, and then the…vamp tramp dumped him for her leech. He changed. He became pretty bitter and depressed. I thought being in my own head was hell, but his was just as bad. But the past few weeks he's started to be like the old, annoying, happy Jake that he used to be. I figure, my situation may suck, and I'll probably never completely forgive Sam or Emily, but you and Jake just seem to fit. At least much better than he did with Bella."

Leah fell into silence as they continued walking and Lilly looked down at her feet as she walked, unsure what to say. Then she decided she couldn't say anything. At least, not until she was sure Jake was going to be fine.

 **XXX**

 **And there it was, the moment you were all waiting for! LILLY TALKED! :D I loved writing this chapter, it was so much fun! I hope everyone liked it.**

 **Obviously, I changed a few things with the fight, adding a couple newborns. I figured since Victoria picked up on Lilly's scent under Edward's, at least a couple of the newborns would've also picked up on it, and she probably had at least a couple looking for Lilly specifically to try and take her out. So yeah, enough with logic, review and let me know what you all thought!**


	24. Chapter 24

Lilly rode in the bed of the pickup on the way to Jake's house, sitting next to Her Wolf and holding his hand. He flinched and yelled in pain whenever they went over a bump or rock, or swerved around a corner. Embry sat in the bed with them, and Jared drove. The rest of the pack had phased to either meet them at the Blacks' house, or go to Emily's to tell the imprints.

When they finally pulled up to the small, red house, Billy was already waiting out front with Sam, Paul, and Seth. Before Jared even parked the car the guys were rushing over and getting into the bed of the truck. Embry helped them lift Jake out of the truck and Jared hurried around to help them after he turned off the truck.

Lilly hopped down from the bed and hurried after them, stopping when Billy held a hand out for her. She grimaced, a failed attempt at smiling at him. He gave her an understanding look, holding his arms open. She bent over and hugged him tight for a few moments. A sound in the trees made her pull away in time to see Leah hurrying out of the trees with the Doctor vampire.

He gave them a grim smile before passing them and entering the house. Lilly took a deep breath through her nose, trying to relax at the thought of Jake being at the mercy of a vampire. Despite knowing that the Cullens weren't really bad guys, it was next to impossible for her to separate them from the image of the vampire that killed her family.

A few minutes later Jared, Seth, and Paul came back outside.

"What's the story?" Billy demanded.

Jared sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It looks like all the bones on the right side of his body were shattered, and because of his rapid healing most of them have healed wrong. So, the Doc's gotta re-break all of 'em and set them to heal right."

Lilly flinched, her own body aching at the mere thought. She hurried around Billy and up the ramp, ignoring the guys calling her name as she hurried in the house. Embry was standing against the wall in the living room, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes fixed on Jake's bedroom door, which was cracked open an inch. He looked up when Lilly entered the building.

"Hey." he stood up straight, glancing nervously at the bedroom door before approaching her. "Um, you should probably wait outside." he suggested gently.

Lilly shook her head, her eyes moving to Jake's door.

"Lil, trust me. It's not going to be pretty. I don't think Jake's going to want you in there to watch." Embry pushed worriedly. Lilly turned her eyes back to him, the wide, pleading, watery eyes making him cave within seconds. He sighed in defeat. "Okay, come on." he put his hand on her back and lead her toward Jake's bedroom, knocking on the door even though they probably already knew he was there. "Hey Sam, Lilly's here."

Sam opened the door and stepped aside, letting Lilly enter. She stepped past him nervously, her eyes immediately moving to Jake's bed.

Dr. Cullen was seated in a chair at Jake's bedside, giving Jake an injection. Jake's eyes, which had previously been fixed on the vampire, were now directed at Lilly.

"Lilly, I don't want you to watch this." he told her gently, his voice hoarse.

Dr. Cullen looked back at her as he put his needles away. "Lillian, Jacob has a point. I'm going to be re-breaking his bones once the morphine spreads. If you've got a queasy stomach it might be better if you waited outside with the others."

Lilly barely glanced at the doctor before her eyes were back on Jake's. She shook her head firmly, approaching the bed and stopping at the side. She wanted to crawl into the bed and offer what comfort she could, but she didn't know if the movement would hurt Jake.

Jake seemed to read the longing on her face. He looked over at Sam across the room, giving his Alpha a significant look.

Sam nodded. "Is there anything Lilly may be able to do to help?" he asked.

Dr. Cullen glanced over both Lilly and Jake before suggesting, "Well, I doubt she'd be able to hold him down, which I may need one of your pack to do since this won't be a pleasant experience for Jacob. However, her bond with Jacob is strong, correct?" he glanced over at Sam, who nodded. "Maybe her presence would keep him somewhat calm and relaxed?"

Sam nodded in agreement. "Probably."

Dr. Cullen nodded thoughtfully before looking back at Lilly, who was staring among them hopefully. "Lilly, would you like to help by wiping Jake's face with a cool rag? It would help keep him calm and keep his body temperature down a bit."

She nodded vigorously.

"I'll go get a rag and a bowl of cold water." Embry announced before leaving the room.

"Lilly," Lilly immediately looked down at Jake at the sound of his voice, "you can climb up here if you want. You can sit on my left side, that one doesn't hurt as much." he suggested, knowing that was what she wanted. She smiled, slipping her shoes and winter coat off before climbing in the bed, staying to Jake's left side by the wall. She turned herself over and sat back against the headboard, her hip by Jake's head. He shifted his head and smiled tiredly up at her, making her give one back, her hand moving to run her fingers through his sweaty hair.

Embry returned with a bowl containing water and a rag. He handed it to the Doctor, who placed it on Jake's bedside table. Dr. Cullen wrung the water out of the rag before handing it to Lilly. She folded it into thirds so it was a rectangular shape and laid it on Jake's forehead, using it to brush his hair back. Jake closed his eyes, sighing quietly in relief.

Dr. Cullen poked at Jake's disfigured, right arm. When Jake didn't react, he spoke, "I think we can start now."

Jake's eyes opened and landed immediately on Lilly. "Flower, if you need to leave at any time at all, you can. Okay?"

Lilly nodded, reaching her free hand up and pressing the back of her fingers against his cheek.

Sam stepped forward, bracing his hands against Jake's shoulders and pinning him to the bed. Carlisle then placed his ice-cold hands on Jake's arm. Jake closed his eyes and tensed. One quick press and a _snap_ filled the silent room.

Jake screamed in agony, his body lurching in the bed. Sam held him firmly to the bed and Lilly quickly pressed the rag to Jake's cheek, her fingers threading through his hair to try and sooth him even as her stomach churned at the sound of his bone snapping. There were, what, about 200 bones in the human body? And Jared said the bones in his right side, so was that almost 100? Would Jake have to repeat that pain 100 times?!

Lilly swallowed back the bile that rose in her throat, trying to put her focus on Jake's needs alone. Leaning down, Lilly pressed a kiss to his sweaty forehead, her fingers trailing down his cheek to the space where his jaw met his neck. Jake took in a breath, his body slowly relaxing.

It seemed to take _forever_. Lilly lost count how many times Dr. Cullen snapped and reset one of Jake's bones, how many times Jake screamed in agony, how many times the doctor had to inject more morphine because his body burned it off, or how many times she soothed Jake. She just wanted it to be over. She couldn't take seeing her imprint in pain. She felt like her own body was aching, and she didn't know if she was imagining it or if it was the imprint making her feel a fraction of Jake's pain. Either way, she wanted it to end.

There were a few times that Jake was in so much pain, he turned and buried his face into the side of her leg, muffling his scream into her jeans. She hated seeing him like that.

Finally, _finally_ , Dr. Cullen finished the last bone and wrapped Jake's body with a white bandage with strict orders to refrain from moving for a day.

When the doctor followed Sam and Embry from the room with the promise to bring a morphine drip the next day, Lilly re-dipped the rag in the cool water and wiped the sweat from Jake's face, gently tracing his brows, nose, and cheekbones. She could feel his eyes watching her face as she did, but she focused on her work.

"Thank you." he whispered, his voice scratchy and quiet from screaming.

She finally met his eyes with a tiny, sad smile. "You don't have to thank me, Jake. There was no way I was leaving you to suffer through that alone." she whispered back.

He smiled, "I can't get over the fact that you're talking." he breathed in amazement. He watched her as she reached over to dip the rag in the water again, wringing the excess water into the bowl. "Are you okay?"

She furrowed her brows at him, sitting back to wipe the rag over his jaw and neck. "Shouldn't I be asking you that question?"

"Well, obviously that wasn't a pleasant experience for me, you shouldn't really need to ask that question. But I can imagine it wasn't great for you to see and hear." Jake explained gently.

Lilly couldn't suppress a shiver at the memory of hearing Jake's bones being snapped, his tortured screams echoing in her ears. She closed her eyes, trying to make it stop. She felt a hand on her hip and looked down to see Jake's good hand on her waist.

"I'm sorry." he whispered, his thumb stroking the skin just under the hem of her shirt. His eyes looked pained, emotionally instead of physically this time.

She shook her head. "Don't be. You got hurt protecting me. And if you think I'd be any better waiting outside with everyone else while you're in here screaming in pain, you're crazy." she pointed out, laughing even as she tried not to cry.

Jake smiled sadly, nodding. "I suppose that's true." He laughed, shaking his head. "When I heard you scream my name out there, I thought I was going crazy."

Lilly laughed with him, looking down as she wiped the sweat from his left collarbone, trying not to get too close to the bandages. "It's just…I saw that vampire sneaking up on you and everyone else was occupied, so it just kinda…burst out of me. Like word vomit."

Jake laughed at her description. "Well, it was the most beautiful word vomit I've ever heard."

Lilly smiled, shaking her head as she dropped the rag back into the bowl. "I think that's good enough for now. You can take a shower in a couple days or so, whenever Dr. Cullen says you're okay to do so."

"Were you okay with him in the room?" Jake asked worriedly. "I mean, you know he's a vampire."

Lilly paused and thought that over. "Honestly, I completely forgot about all that because I was focused on you. But I guess he can't be too bad, right? I mean, he didn't have to help you, and he didn't have to offer to bring back a morphine drip for you tomorrow. But that doesn't mean I'm a vampire girl." she added sternly, "I'm a wolf girl, through and through."

Jake smirked weakly. "Good."

There was a knock on the door before it opened and Billy rolled into the room. "Hey, how're you holding up?"

Jake smiled. "I've been better, but at least I've got an amazing bedside nurse." he smirked at Lilly, who scowled at him and flicked his forehead.

Billy chuckled. "Everyone wanted to come in and check on you, but I figured you'd want some sleep, so I told them they could stop by sometime tomorrow. That okay?"

Jake yawned. "That's perfect. 'Cause honestly, I'm exhausted."

Billy smiled before looking over at Lilly, who was still seated on his son's bed. "I haven't had the chance to contact any of the Elders about what happened, so I was about to do that. Would you like me to tell Abby you're staying over tonight?"

Lilly glanced at Jake, wondering what his preference was.

Jake smiled. "It's up to you," though personally he'd prefer if she stayed.

Finally, she smiled at Billy and nodded.

He grinned. "Alright then, I'll get to that. You two can get some sleep or something." he suggested, turning to wheel out of the room.

Swallowing, Lilly whispered just loud enough to be heard, "Thank you."

Billy stopped and looked over his shoulder at her. He smiled. "You're welcome."

When he left the room and closed the door behind him, Lilly turned back to Jake. "I can sleep on the floor or the chair if you want."

"What? No. You're sleeping in the bed with me." Jake responded like she was crazy.

"But I don't want to risk hurting you." she argued.

"You won't hurt me if you're on this side." he pointed out, gesturing to the side she was already sitting on. "Come on, there's just enough room for you to sleep here."

She smiled, secretly happy that's what he wanted. Scooting around, she pushed the blanket back and laid down in the small space between him and the wall, pulling the blanket up around her waist. She turned on her side, feeling Jake slip his good arm under her and wrap it around her back. With her front pressed to his side and her face nestled into his chest, both Lilly and Jake drifted off to sleep.

XXX

Something tickled Jake's nose when he felt himself stirring into wakefulness. Blinking his bleary eyes open he found his face buried in black hair. He pulled back a few inches so he could see better, even though he knew immediately who was snuggled into him. Lilly's eyes were closed gently, her chest rising and falling in her sleep, and her braided black hair was frizzy on top from where his pillow had messed it up.

Jake smiled, his eyes tracing and retracing her features, his left hand unintentionally pulling her closer. Unfortunately, the move caused his body to shift and he gritted his teeth against the pain in his right side. His head dropped back on his pillow and he stared up at his ceiling. He couldn't figure out why he woke up. Then, his ears figured it out.

A car engine shut off from outside in his driveway, the sound followed shortly by a car door slamming shut. He'd know the sound of that engine anywhere. A growl rumbled in his throat, his arm tightening around Lilly again as he heard the groaning of the front porch steps.

There was a knock on his front door and he waited silently as his dad's wheelchair crossed the living room and the front door was opened.

"Bella. Good morning, what can I do for you?" Billy asked politely, even though he probably knew why Bella was there.

"I wanted to see how Jake was doing." she answered as if it were obvious.

"That's kind of you, Bella, but I'm afraid he's asleep at the moment. Maybe you can stop by later."

"No, I need to talk to him. It's important." Bella insisted.

"I'm sorry, Bella, but it's doctors orders. Jake needs to rest if he's going to heal. I'll have him call you later, okay?"

There was a few seconds of silence where Jake expected to hear Bella leave in a huff. Instead, he heard the breaks of Billy's wheelchair squeak in protest before his chair banged into a wall.

"Bella." Billy called as footsteps hurried down the hall toward Jake's room. Jake growled to himself. What kind of person shoves someone's wheelchair into the wall? His bedroom door was opened and Bella stepped into the doorway. Her eyes landed on Lilly, and Jake saw her stiffen. He pulled Lilly close to him, almost hiding her beneath his body.

"What do you want?" he snarled protectively.

"Jake, I just wanted to check on you and talk." Bella started in a quiet voice, the voice that usually made everyone bend to her every whim.

"I think my dad made it perfectly clear that you're not welcome at the moment. And why in the hell did you just shove him into the wall?!" he demanded, forgetting to keep his voice down for a moment. Lilly flinched in his arm, her heartbeat picking up as she was lurched out of sleep.

"Jake, I'm sorry. I just wanted to check on you. I didn't get the chance to yesterday." Bella apologized, taking a few steps into the room.

"I was doing just fine sleeping until I got woken up."

Bella looked past Jake at where Lilly was peaking up at her, her head rested on the uninjured side of Jake's chest. "I'd like to speak with Jake alone, if you could please give us a moment." she said haughtily.

Jake growled lowly and was about to tell her off when someone beat him to it.

"No."

Bella stared at Lilly in shock, her eyes wide and mouth hanging open.

"Excuse me?" she nearly shrieked.

Lilly slowly pushed herself into a sitting position in the bed, not moving far since Jake's arm constricted around her waist. "I said, 'no'. I'm not going to leave. Jake doesn't want me to leave, and he certainly doesn't want you here. He just had half the bones in his body crushed and then re-broken. The pack, Kim, Emily, and his father supported him by waiting outside, Sam and Embry helped Dr. Cullen while his bones were being broken, and I sat here, in this bed, while every single bone was snapped and reset. If any of them want to come in and visit Jake, they're welcome to. You do not get to barge in here demanding Jake's attention _after_ all of that. You weren't here for him when he was in pain because of the battle you pretty much caused. He needs to rest and stay in bed, not be stressed out. If you continue forcing your presence where it's not wanted, his wolf is going to get agitated and he's not in a position to phase right now. That would just cause him more pain. So, if you have any respect or sympathy left in you at all, _please go home_." she finished sternly, emphasizing the last three words.

Bella stared at her in absolute shock and disbelief, while Jake smiled proudly up at his imprint.

"I-I thought you didn't talk!" Bella exclaimed just as three hulking figures appeared behind her in Jake's bedroom doorway.

"And I think she just told you to beat it, vamp tramp." Paul growled, making Bella jump and spin around in shock. Embry and Quil glared at her from behind Paul.

"Hey, you think one of you guys can get her out of my house?" Jake asked, "She wasn't invited. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's illegal to just force your way into someone's house when they tell you to leave." he added thoughtfully. The three guys smirked and Quil grabbed Bella's arm, practically dragging her from the house, even though he hardly had to use any effort. She argued and screeched the whole way.

When he came back after locking her out of the house, all three guys entered the room.

"How you doing?" Embry asked, sitting in the chair at Jake's bedside.

"Much better now that she's gone." Jake joked, looking up at Lilly with a grin. She blushed but smiled in return.

"Yeah, nice job telling her off, Lil." Quil grinned, holding a hand up. Lilly laughed, giving him a high five.

"So, does this mean you're going to be talking on a regular basis now?" Paul asked curiously.

Lilly shrugged. "Probably, but I might not be super talkative yet. We'll see how it goes."

"So does this mean Jake's your 'reason for talking'?" Embry smirked, making air-quotes with his fingers.

Lilly glared at him and the other guys when he bumped knuckles with Quil.

"Hey, you're welcome to hang in here, but if you start picking on my girl I'll whoop all your asses when I'm healed." Jake warned, half serious, half joking.

The guys laughed but backed off on the jokes, knowing Jake could take them down with little to no problem.

 **XXX**

 **Chapter 25 is the last chapter, which I'll be posting in the next few days, but on a happy note, I'll be posting the 1** **st** **chapter of the sequel that same day. It's going to be called** _ **The Flower's Nightmare**_ **.**


	25. Chapter 25

All day Saturday, Jake had to stay in bed, the only forms of entertainment being the many visitors that stopped by. Billy provided breakfast, lunch, and dinner, courtesy of Emily. Dr. Cullen also stopped by earlier in the morning with the morphine drip like he promised, which was a huge relief to Jake. And through it all, Lilly rarely left his side, only for bathroom breaks or to help Billy with something in the house. Her Gran also stopped in to see how Lilly and Jake were doing.

Jake still had to take it easy on Sunday, but he could at least walk around the house and get in the shower. Deciding to be cute as well as take advantage of his time off patrols, Jake decided to set up a small picnic lunch in his living room for him and Lilly. It was fun and sweet and Lilly loved every second of it.

Just to be safe, Billy kept Jake home from school on Monday, but by Monday evening he was completely healed and it was agreed he could go back to school and patrols Tuesday morning. Most classes were reviewing and preparing for finals, or the classes with Seniors were already taking finals.

Lilly and Paul's English class spent Tuesday taking a short quiz and then starting their final speeches with the couple seniors in the class. Wednesday, the Seniors' last day, was spent finishing up the speeches.

Jackson reclaimed his seat after giving his speech as the class clapped.

"Alright," Mrs. Alexander smiled before looking back down at her roster for the next name. Her smile fell just a bit before she looked back up. "Lilly Fuller."

Lilly looked over her shoulder at where the teacher was sitting in the back of the room.

"Are you ready to give your speech?" Mrs. Alexander asked in a tired voice, as if she already knew her answer. Everyone turned in their seats to watch Lilly's response, already knowing what she'd answer.

So, the entire class except Paul was absolutely shocked when Lilly nodded in answer.

Mrs. Alexander was shocked into silence for a second before she managed, "Oh, well, by all means." she gestured to the front of the room, pulling out a grade sheet from her stack and filling it out as Lilly gathered her note cards.

She met Paul's eyes briefly from where he sat in the back, and he gave her a small smirk. She grinned back before approaching the podium in the front of the classroom. She set her cards on the slanted surface, facing the class. She took in a deep breath to steel her nerves before starting.

"Dag Hammarskjold once said, 'Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for'. The most important thing I learned this year wasn't something you can learn in a textbook or classroom. I learned that I don't have to do everything alone. That there are plenty of people out there that are willing to help me and be there for me. I started this year out with really no close friends and in the last few weeks I've gained a whole group of them. People I can trust, and laugh with, and talk to. People who have my back, and I have theirs in return."

Lilly's eyes swept the room as she spoke, briefly meeting eyes with a girl on the far side of the room, by the window. Maggie, one of her former best friends, "They gave me a reason to talk when I couldn't find one. When it felt like the whole world was against me, they took me in, stuck up for me, and became some of the greatest friends I could ask for."

She turned back to the rest of the class to finish speaking, "And that's the most important thing I've learned, not only this year, but in my life as a whole."

The class applauded as Lilly gathered her note cards and headed toward her seat. They went through the last few people in the class, and at the end Mrs. Alexander handed out everyone's grade sheets so they knew what they got before she put them in the computer. When Lilly got her own grade sheet she saw that she got a 17/20, a 'B'. The only thing that really hurt her grade was that her time was under a minute, when it was supposed to be at least 2 minutes. But it was good enough to keep her final grade at an 'A'.

When the bell rang Paul and Lilly walked to their lockers to drop off their things before going to the cafeteria.

"So, what'd you get on your speech?" Paul asked as they walked down the hall.

"A 'B'. You?"

"'C'." he admitted with a smirk, not really caring. He was almost done with high school, he didn't care about his grades.

"What are you doing after high school if you can't go to college?" Lilly asked curiously as they followed the crowd.

"Well, the Elders are working on a plan to somehow pay those of us who aren't in school, since it's hard to hold down a serious job when we can get called in at any moment. Plus, Sam wants to start a small business that some of the guys can get in on to earn a little extra, just finding little odd jobs around the rez, like fixing up stuff around people's houses."

"That's cool." Lilly smiled as they got their trays and headed toward their table. She took an empty seat next to Seth and Paul sat across the table next to Jared.

"How'd your speech go?" Seth asked excitedly.

"Yeah, and what'd everyone's faces look like when you talked?" Quil demanded, leaning forward.

Lilly laughed, "My speech went well, I got a 'B'; and everyone looked pretty surprised that I actually gave a speech."

"Surprised? Did you miss one of the guys who was half asleep drop his head on his desktop when he realized it was _you_ talking?" Paul asked, making the guys burst out laughing. "He had a huge red spot on his forehead!"

Lilly laughed, shaking her head and wishing she'd actually seen that. A wave of heat touched her side before a pair of lips touched her cheek and a body made the seat next to her groan. She turned and smiled at Jake, who returned it with his own 100 watt smile.

"So, you actually gave your speech, huh?" he grinned before taking a bite of his cheeseburger.

"Yep." Lilly beamed proudly before taking a bite of her macaroni.

"She did pretty good. I got it on video if you wanna see." Paul smirked at Lilly as he held up his cell phone.

Lilly's eyes widened and her mouth fell open. "You did not."

His smirk widened. "Oh, I did."

"Paul!" she whined.

Everyone at the table laughed and started demanding to see the video, making Lilly roll her eyes. Jake chuckled, wrapping his arm around her waist and scooting her closer to his side, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure you did great. You've got nothing to be embarrassed about." he whispered into her hair.

"I know, but still." she grumbled, pouting up at him. Jake smiled, knowing by the way her eyes were lit up that she wasn't really upset about it.

"Just think," he whispered near her ear to give them the illusion of privacy, "we've only got a week left of school, and then we've got the whole summer to hang out. And I can take you out on a proper date."

Lilly failed to fight off her smile as she peaked up at him from under her lashes. Jake leaned down and Lilly met him halfway, ignoring the warm butterflies in her tummy as she kissed Her Wolf.

 **THE END**

 **XXX**

 **And that's the end of** _ **Silence of the Flower**_ **, thank you to everyone who stuck with this story from the start. I will be posting chapter 1 of the sequel** _ **The Flower's Nightmare**_ **right after I've posted this, so go ahead and check that out!**


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